Thank you, Grandpa. He doesn't look any older, does
he? Congratulations. I'm very thankful. Tonight will
be the last night for some time that we'll have a chance to be
with Carl and Ivy Lou. They're leaving tomorrow to head
back to the snow. I don't know why they're doing
that. beautiful weather here, but it's been such a blessing
to have them with us the last several weeks. We'll miss you. Digna fell in her home yesterday
and broke her pelvis, and she's in Health Central over in Ocoee. I don't know what they're going
to do, if they're going to have to do surgery or if she'll be
able to do surgery. I'm going to see her tonight,
but we'll keep you posted on that. Jeff has done just a stellar
job in getting our services broadcast on the Internet for the last
several years, but our equipment is outdated, and I know a lot
of people said, well, we've got hum in it and everything. Well,
Kim Kee came Thursday and gave us a proposal today on redoing
our electronics. So hopefully, that'll be greatly
improved in the next couple weeks. All right, will you open your
Bibles with me to Isaiah chapter 22. We looked at this passage
a couple of weeks ago. I want to read it for our scripture
reading and call attention to one particular verse. Eliakim, The son of Hilkiah in
verse 20 of Isaiah 22 is a type of Christ. He's the king and
his name means raised by God, which is a picture of the living
King, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in verse 20 it says, And
it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with thy robe,
and strengthen him with thy girdle. I will commit thy government
unto his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. The government shall be
upon his shoulder. And he's going to reign over
the house of Jerusalem. And the key of the house of David
will I lay upon his shoulder. So he shall open and none shall
shut. And he shall shut and none shall
open. What God opens, no man can shut,
and what God shuts, no man can open. And normally, when we think
of that, we think of the Lord opening the hearts of His children,
enabling them to hear the gospel, and blinding the eyes of the
unbelievers so that their hearts are hardened and they believe
a lie, and God shuts the door that can't be opened. But the
truth is, and that's true, But what I want you to see tonight
is that what the Lord opens and what the Lord shuts is in the
same life of his people. He opens our hearts to the truth
and he shuts our minds to the lie. And I will fasten him, verse
23, as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be a glorious throne
to his father's house. And they shall hang upon him
all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the
issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even
to the vessels of flagons. All of his children will hang
on him. He's that nail fastened in a sure place. And in that
day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened
in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall. And
the burden that was upon him shall be cut off, for the Lord
hath spoken it." Now that's a reference to the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the burden that was laid upon him was the sins of
his people. He bore in his body all of our
sins, and those sins were cut off when he was cut off. So, let's pray together. Our
Heavenly Father, we're thankful to be able to call you our Father
and to be able to know, Lord, that you've made a way through
the Lord Jesus Christ by opening the eyes of our understanding,
opening your word, opening the hearts of your children, and
closing their minds and their hearts to those things that are
false. We pray tonight that you would
do that work of grace for us. We pray that you would open your
word. We pray that you would cause us to be narrow-minded
when it comes to the truth. We pray for Digna. Lord, we're
so grateful for her and we ask that you'd be merciful to her.
We pray that you would lessen her pain and Lord, that you would
give the doctors that minister to her the knowledge to know
how to treat her, and that you would just treat her with gentle
kindness, Lord, as you are faithful to do. We ask it in Christ's
name. Amen. Well, you find in your Bibles
the book of Hosea, the seventh chapter of Hosea. Three times in God's Word, the
word silly is used. Once here in the 7th chapter
of Hosea, once in the 5th chapter of Job, and once in 2 Timothy
chapter 3. And I've titled this message,
Don't Be Silly. Don't Be Silly. In verse 11,
of Hosea chapter 7, the Lord says Ephraim also is like a silly
dove, like a silly dove without heart, no commitment, just flitting
around from thing to thing, here a while and there a while. Ephraim
is like a silly dove without heart They call to Egypt, they
go to Assyria. When they get in trouble, they
turn to and fro and try to find help in other places. And God
calls Ephraim silly. Turn with me to the book of Job,
chapter 5. Verse 1, call now if there be
any that will answer thee, and to which of the saints wilt thou
turn? For wrath killeth the foolish
man, and envy slayeth the silly one. Don't be silly. This word is
also translated in the Old Testament deceived. It's translated enticed. It's translated allured. It's translated persuaded. It's translated to enlarge your
thinking. In short, the word silly means
to be open-minded. It means to be open-minded. We
just read in Isaiah chapter 22, what the Lord opens no man can
shut and what he shuts no man can open. I don't want you to be open-minded
when it comes to the truth of the gospel. I pray that the Lord will teach
us the truth and keep us from being silly. Now surely there
are things in life that we ought to be open-minded about. It's
very offensive to be around someone who's not open-minded when it
comes to a better way of doing things. when it comes to maybe
some nuances of politics, or philosophy, or business practices. Surely there's things to be learned,
and there are better ways of doing things, and we'll never
discover those things if we're not open-minded. Surely we need
to be open-minded when it comes to giving other people the benefit
of the doubt. We hear someone say something
or watch them do something and we make some conclusions about
them and we think, well it seems to me that's what they meant,
but Lord give me grace to be open-minded enough to give them
the benefit of the doubt in that area. To be teachable, certainly. is very important. Children are
very open-minded, and it's the reason why they find it so easy
to learn. They don't filter everything
through all the junk that we filter stuff through, and they're
quick to learn things, aren't they, because they're so open-minded.
But that open-mindedness for a child in its good sense also
has a very negative sense in that they are very easily deceived. Children can be led astray, they
can be deceived very easily, can't they? Now the Lord said of Ephraim
that they were like a silly dove running down to Egypt running
over to Assyria, going here and there, trying to find another
way to be saved. And Job says that envy, envy,
the envy of God slayeth the silly one. In other words, God is very
jealous for his glory, and those who are open-minded about certain
things will be judged by the glory of God. The world, of course,
prides itself in being open-minded about everything, doesn't it?
When in fact, they're really not open-minded. They're open-minded
only about those things that they agree with, and yet it's a very You know,
it's a very open-minded world that we live in, isn't it? And
in fact, this need that everybody has to be open-minded is nothing
more than going back to the garden. What was it that Satan said to
Eve? The reason that God doesn't want
you to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is
because He knows in the day that you eat it, what? Your eyes will
be opened and you'll know the difference between good and evil.
In other words, you'll have the power of choice. You'll be like
God. You'll have the ability to sort
things out and discern things and choose that which is good
and that which is bad. You'll be truly open-minded if
you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Satan's
tactics haven't changed, have they? He's still trying to deceive
men to be open-minded when it comes to the things of God. The
Lord tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise. I will bring to naught the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the
things of this world? Man prides himself on being open-minded. In fact, He's not so open-minded
about many things. The things that he ought to be
open-minded about, he's not. And the things he ought not to
be open-minded about, he is. A religious man calls himself
open-minded, but he's really not. He's closed-minded. He's already concluded with a
closed mind that God loves everybody. That's a given. He's already got a closed mind
about the will of man and he believes it to be free. He's
got a closed mind about what the Lord Jesus Christ came to
do. He came to make an offer of salvation. He desires all
men to be saved. He wants everybody to be saved. He's close-minded about those
things, isn't he? He believes that faith is the
cause of his salvation. He believes the Bible is a rule
book for Christian living. He's closed
his mind about the things that he needs to be open-minded about. And he's opened his mind about
the things he needs to be closed-minded about. I want you to be closed-minded
about the truth. I want to be closed-minded about
it. Because if we're not, then we're just going to be silly.
We're going to be silly. Now the world will try to intimidate
you for being close-minded. They'll call you, what, narrow-minded.
I've been called pinch-brained before. You know, you're just
too narrow. You've got, you know, too narrow
of a way. Well, you know, the Lord spoke of that, didn't he?
He said, broad is the road and many are they that are on it
that leads to destruction and narrow is the way. Narrow is
the way. It's okay to be closed-minded
if what you're closed-minded about is true. And if it's true and you're closed-minded
about it, then you're free. That's what the Lord meant when
He said, if you know the truth, the truth will set you free.
You don't have to be entertaining any other ideas when it comes
to the truth. Now, my question initially is,
what is it to be silly? According to the scriptures,
to be silly is to be open-minded. To be silly is to flirt around
like a silly dove and try to find salvation in Egypt and try
to find salvation in Assyria and not know the truth of God.
To be silly means that God hasn't opened your heart to the gospel
and closed your mind to the lies. To be silly means that you're
going to bring the wrath of God, as Job said in Job chapter five. First Kings chapter, my second
question is, who is it that makes men silly? On 2 Thessalonians chapter 2
the scripture says that those who have no love of the truth,
turn with me there, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Don't be silly. Don't be silly. Don't be open minded when it
comes to the truth. Now I don't want you to be closed-minded
because I told you to be closed-minded or anybody else told you to be
closed-minded. The Lord said, they shall be
all taught of God. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast hid these things from the
wise and the prudent. I thank thee that those who pride
themselves in being open-minded they've been in fact blinded
by God and you've revealed them unto babes. If the Lord opens
our hearts to the truth in doing that he will shut our minds to
error. And what he opens no man can
shut and what he shuts no man can open. You have your Bibles open to
2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Look at verse 10. And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, the unbeliever who has nothing
to hope for but eternal damnation, separation from God. Why? Because they received not the
love of the truth. They didn't believe the gospel.
They didn't believe what God said. They didn't have their
minds shut like a steel trap to the truth of the gospel. They
were silly. They were open-minded. And therefore
they're not able to be saved. And for this cause God shall
send them Strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that
they may be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure
in their unrighteousness. They prided themselves in thinking
that their good works and that their free will somehow earned
them favor with God. They were silly. They were silly. But I want you to notice that
God sent them the strong delusion. God sent them the strong delusion.
What means that God used to send them the strong delusion? Well,
the same means that God's always used false prophets. False prophets. Try the spirits, the Lord said
in 1 John, and see whether they be of God. Don't be open-minded
to the lies of the false prophets. Turn with me to 1 Kings chapter
22. Ahab, the wicked king of Israel,
the northern half of Israel as a nation, realized that Ramoth-Gilead actually
belonged to Israel and Syria had taken control of it. And
so Ahab goes down to the southern kingdom and speaks to Jehoshaphat,
who's the king of Judah. and says to Jehoshaphat, will
you come and help me to deliver Ramoth Gilead from Syria? And Jehoshaphat says, yes. He said, my horses are your horses,
my people are your people, we're in this together, let's do it.
But Jehoshaphat says, consult the prophets and see whether
or not the Lord will deliver Ramoth Gilead to us. And so Ahab
brings together 400 prophets. 400 of them, all right here in
1 Kings chapter 22. And all 400 prophets are in agreement. They all said, yes, go take it. God's gonna give it to you. And
you're gonna be the victor. And Jehoshaphat says, are there
any other prophets in Israel besides these 400? Look at verse
eight. And the king of Israel said unto
Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imla,
by whom we inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, for he doth not
prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Yeah, there's one other prophet,
but every time I ask him, he always says something bad about
me. And I don't want to listen to him anymore. My mind's closed
to him. I've got all these other 400
prophets. They're telling me what I want to hear. And so Jehoshaphat
insists that they consult Micaiah. And Micaiah tells the king, he
says, yes, God's gonna give Israel victory. And you're going to
take back Ramoth-Gilead. But Ahab, you're gonna die in
the battle. And Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, see, I told you.
I told you he was gonna say something bad about me. And so they took
Micaiah and they put him in prison. And Ahab, Micaiah told him, he
said, you can put me here in prison. I said, all right, I'm
going to stick to my guns. I've told you what God told me
to say, and you're not coming back from this battle. You're
not coming back from this battle. So Ahab thought, well, what we'll
do, because the king of Syria was only interested in Ahab.
If you read the story, the king of Syria said, you put all of
your resources against Ahab and kill Ahab, we'll cut the head
of the snake off, the snake will die. And so Jehoshaphat and Ahab
got this bright idea, well, we'll dress Jehoshaphat up to look
like Ahab, and Ahab will take his his apparel off of him and
they'll never know who he is. Look at verse 34 in that chapter. And a certain man, here's in
the heat of the battle, Ahab's escaped, He thinks he's safe. He thinks that the prophecy of
Micaiah didn't come to pass. And a certain man drew a bow
at a venture. In other words, one of the Assyrians
just took an arrow and shot it up in the sky. And it just happened
to come down and strike Ahab, the king of Israel, between the
joints of the harness, wherefore he said unto the driver of his
chariot, Turn thine hand and carry me out of the host, for
I am wounded. Ahab dies. He dies. Why did Ahab die such a horrible
death? He thought he was going to escape
the prophecy of Micaiah. Turn back with me to verse 20.
And the Lord said, the Lord said, who shall persuade Ahab? The same word translated silly.
You remember I gave you all those other words where the word silly
is used? And this is one of the places
where it's used. Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall
at Ramoth Gilead? And one said on this manner and
another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit
and stood before the Lord and said, I will persuade him. I'll open his mind. I'll make
him not to believe the truth." So now God sends a spirit. The
same thing that says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Because they had no
love of the truth, God sent them a lie that they would believe
it. He's the one who made them to be open-minded. So what He
opens, no man can shut. And what He shuts, no man can
open. I'll persuade them and the Lord
said unto him wherewith and he said I will go forth and I will
be a lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets and he said thou
shalt persuade him and prevail also go forth and do so so the
Lord says to this angel you go and be a lying spirit in the
mouth of the prophets and tell Ahab what he wants to hear and
Ahab's going to go out of his way to try to avoid the fulfillment
of the prophecy of the truth but it's going to be fulfilled. Who is it that makes men silly?
It's God. He sends lying spirits in the
mouth of false prophets. And men believe the lie to the
destruction of their own souls. That's what this is a picture
of. I don't want you to be persuaded. I don't want you to be silly. I don't want you to be open-minded
when it comes to the truth. Oh, I pray that the Lord would
be the one to close our minds and cause us to believe the truth. This is what the passage in Hebrews
chapter 6 is all about. You remember at the end of Hebrews
chapter 5 where the Lord says, there are many of you that ought
to be teachers, but you still need someone to teach you. And
then he goes on in chapter, turn with me there, Hebrews chapter
6. Verse 12, verse 11. of chapter 5, of whom we have
many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull
of hearing." Dull of hearing, you're open-minded. You don't have your hearing tuned
to the truth. And he goes on to say, for when
in this time you ought to be teachers, you have need that
someone teach you again the first principles of the oracle of God.
Why? Because you're flirting with
the thoughts of the false prophets who've come in behind me. They're
undermining the gospel. They're telling you, you can
go to Egypt. You can go to Assyria. You can
flirt with the truth. You don't have to be close-minded
about it. And the Lord says, you're babes. You're babes. You're drinking
milk. The milk of the gospel is the... And in chapter 6 verse
1, Therefore leave the principles of the doctrines of Christ, and
let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation.
You ought to have your mind closed to these truths. You see, what
the Lord said in Hebrews, the end of Hebrews 5 and the beginning
of Hebrews 6, is that these Hebrews were still opening their minds,
even as the Galatians were. Who has bewitched you, O foolish
Galatians? Stand fast in the liberty with
where I have made you free, and don't be entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. Don't be open-minded. But that's
what they were doing. And so in chapter 6 verse 1,
he says, you're needing someone to lay again the foundation of
repentance from dead works? Don't you know that all your
righteousness is as filthy rags before God? And that you have
no righteousness? That Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness? Be closed-minded about that.
Don't be open-minded about that. That's a basic principle of the
gospel. That's an ABC. Just shut your mind to that.
Otherwise, you're going to be silly. Don't be silly. Faith towards God? Don't you
know without faith it's impossible to please God? For he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. Don't you know that faith is
the gift of God? This is an ABC of the gospel. Don't be silly. That's what he's
rebuking these believers for being. They're being silly. They're
being open-minded about that which they need to be closed-minded
about. The doctrine of baptisms? Don't
you know that the doctrine of baptisms has to do with your
union with Christ? Buried with Christ in baptism
and raised to walk a new life in Christ Jesus? Had a conversation this week.
I hope this man listens to this message. Hope he does. Had a
conversation with him and we talked for over an hour. And
we were in agreement on most things when it comes to everything.
I mean, we were talking about law and grace and Christ. And
then I got to the subject of baptism. And I knew that he sprinkled
babies with water and called it baptism. And so I was hoping
that maybe that was just grave clothes for him and maybe he
would be encouraged to reconsider that and understand what a denial
of the gospel that practice is. And so we started, and unfortunately,
he sort of dug in his heels and held to his position. And so
I asked him, I said, let me ask you one question. I said, are
you open-minded about your position on baptism? And he said, well,
yeah, I guess I am. And I said, well, I'm not. I'm not. I say, God's taught
me the truth about baptism. My mind is shut tight like a
steel trap, and it can't be opened. God shut it. And I'm encouraged
that you're open-minded about it. And I would encourage you
to consider your position, because sprinkling babies is a denial
of the gospel, yet suggesting that there's some other means
of salvation other than faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
some advantage. I asked him, I said, why don't
you just bring in somebody? He said, well, it's a picture
of Christ. I said, why don't you just bring some person off
the street that has no interest in the gospel and baptize them?
Why baptize your babies? He said, well, they have no proximity
to the church. I said, neither do your babies.
The church is only made up of believers. Believers and to say
that your babies have a proximity to the gospel Because they're
in some sort of covenant community and they have an advantage or
something. Yeah It's a denial of the gospel. I Told him I said I said I'm
glad you're open-minded about it. I hope you'll stay open-minded
until God makes you shut minded. I doctrine of baptisms, union with
Christ, buried with Christ in baptism, and raised to walk a
new life in Christ Jesus. Baptism is the believer's testimony
of faith in Christ. There's no scriptural ground
for it, for anything else. The laying on of hands, when
the priest in the Old Testament will put his hands on the head
of that goat, that scapegoat, and symbolically, what was he
doing? Symbolically transferring the
guilt of the sins of the people to that goat and sending that
goat out to it. There's the laying on of hands.
We don't practice the laying on of hands in any other sense.
I like what Charles Spurgeon said. He said, what good is it
going to do to you if I put my dirty hands on your dirty head?
I'm not going to help anybody. The laying on of hands was substitution. Substitution. Don't be open-minded
about this. When the Lord Jesus Christ hung
on Calvary's cross, He was our scapegoat. And the full weight
of all our guilt and all our shame was placed on Him and put
away. That nail was fastened in a sure
place. Hang on it! Because when it was
cut off, everything that was on it was cut off as well. God separated our sins from us
as far as the East is from the West. Oh, that God would shut
our minds to that. That we wouldn't flirt with any
other idea. That's what the Lord's talking
about. He said, you're flirting with
these things, laying on of hands. The resurrection of the dead,
you see that in verse 2 of Hebrews chapter 6. That's substitution. When Christ
was raised from the dead, I was raised with Him. That's union
with Christ. He's the firstborn among many
brethren. He was offered up for our offenses
and raised again because of our justification, and our minds
are shut to that. If God's taught you the gospel,
you're not open to any. That's why we don't ask people,
well, what do you believe? What do you think about this
and that? And we don't debate. I was talking to somebody last
week, last Sunday night over in Sarasota, and they were telling
me about someone that loves getting on the internet and debating
the gospel. Why? Why? Why do you do that? It's not
to be debated. You don't debate something that
your mind's been shut to. You just declare it and know
that God's going to give someone else faith to believe it and
He'll shut their minds. And they'll believe it with all
their hearts. Eternal judgment. Satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ was judged
by God. It pleased the Father to bruise
Him. And our judgment in Him, satisfied. No condemnation. No condemnation. The law's got nothing to say
to me. My mind's shut to that. It's just, God shut it. When
He opens our hearts to Christ, He shuts our minds so that we're
no longer silly. Don't be silly. Don't entertain
anything that's contrary to the truth of the gospel. Has the Lord shut your mind?
Has He shut your mind to the fact that this is the inerrant,
infallible, inspired Word of God? Has he shut your mind to that?
This doesn't just contain the Word of God. It's not the words
of men that have been handed down and perverted. No, holy
men, this is not by private interpretation. The holy men of God wrote as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. This is nothing less than the
Word of God. I'm not interested in trying
to convince you of that. But if the Lord shuts your mind
to it, you'll know that it is in its entirety the Word of God
and you'll believe every word of it. Every word of it. And you'll know that it's a revelation
of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For in the
volume of the book it is written of me. My mind's shut to that. I hope yours is. I hope your
mind's shut, because let me tell you, there's plenty of lying
prophets out there, and they're not all religious preachers. Young people, they're college
professors. They're peers. They're men who
think that they're wise and prudent. And God says they're fools. They're
fools. Ask God to shut your mind to
the truth, and then you won't be silly. You won't be led astray. You won't be going down to Egypt
and going down to Syria and bringing the envy and wrath of God on
your head. As God shuts your mind, like
He did to the Ethiopian eunuch, when Philip got in the chariot
with him and began right there in Isaiah 53 and preached unto
him Jesus. And what did the Ethiopians say?
What doth hinder me to be baptized? If thou believest with all thine
heart, if God has shut your mind to the fact that this Jesus that
I preached unto you is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then
you may. And he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. My mind shut. I'm just captivated by it. I'm
captured by it. I can't go anywhere else. Would
the disciple, would Peter say, will you lead me also? Lord,
where are we going to go? You've shut our minds. Thou alone
has the words of eternal life and we know and are sure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. What did Paul
say? I'm persuaded. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded. I can't be silly
about it. I'm persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. He
has shut my mind. Don't be intimidated by worldlings
who pride themselves in being open-minded because your mind
has been shut. If you know the truth, you're
no longer silly. God has shut your mind. He has
shut your heart. Be open-minded about those things
of the world that you need to learn better things about. But
when it comes to the gospel, Romans chapter 4 verse 20, staggered
not at the promises of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, being fully persuaded." Abraham had his mind
shut, didn't he? He wasn't silly. He was fully
persuaded that he which had promised was also able to perform. Do you believe that? Has God shut your mind to the
truth that everything He promised, He's able to perform? Turn with
me to Romans chapter 8. Well, you know what? You're in
Hebrews. Turn with me to Hebrews 11 first. Hebrews 11. Verse 13, Hebrews 11 verse 13,
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims in the earth. Has God made you to be a stranger
and a pilgrim in the earth? Has He convinced you of His promises? Has He persuaded you beyond any
shadow of a doubt? Has He shut your mind? If He
hasn't, you're being silly. You're just being silly and the
whole world is silly. And they pride themselves in
being silly. They pride themselves and think,
well, I'm open-minded. Next time somebody says that
to you, just say, okay, silly. Romans chapter eight. Verse 28. Are you close-minded in being
persuaded that our God is sovereign over all the circumstances of
your life? Not only is He sovereign in salvation,
but He's sovereign in providence. You may not understand what he's
doing, you may not like what he's doing sometimes, but you're
persuaded that everything that happens, happens according to
his purpose. That our God is a God of purpose
and he is performing all his purpose for the accomplishment
of his glory and the salvation of his people. We know that all things work
together for good for them that love God and those that are called
according to his purpose. Now if you're in the depths of
despair and trouble and you hear a person say that to you, you
can say to that person, you just don't understand and that person
may not. Hearing those words from a man
are no comfort if that man is not going through what you're
going through. But hearing those words from God, being persuaded by God, having
Him speak them effectually to your heart, that's peace, that's comfort,
that's hope. That's rest. I'm a pilgrim. I'm a stranger. And I know it's
true. For whom he did foreknow. Has God shut your mind to the
truth that before time ever began, He loved a particular people
with an everlasting love, placed them in Christ, foreknew them
before they ever knew Him. Has He convinced you of that? Are you close-minded to that?
You don't want to debate that with anybody. You don't want
to just rejoice in it. And that all that he foreknew
he did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son? David and Teresa Edmondson were
with us a couple weeks ago. And Teresa, as I'm sure you could
tell, is half Japanese. Her mother was full-blooded Japanese,
grew up in Nagasaki, Teresa's mother was sick and
at home the day that we dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. Every child
in her class was killed. Teresa's mother survived. Teresa's mother never became
a believer. God spared her mother. for her. When her mother was in the third
or fourth grade, the Lord had already predestinated Teresa
as one of His and spared her life for one of His children. How many of those events that
we can't even see? We don't even know what's going
on. But I'm persuaded. I'm persuaded. I just know that
my God reigns and He hath done whatsoever He wills." All that He predestinated, He
called. The effectual call. The irresistible
call. And all that He called, He justified. justified in Christ, without
sin, never have sinned. Why? Because God Almighty has
never viewed any of His children outside of Christ. He placed
them in Christ before time began. He saw them in Christ even when
they didn't believe. He brought them to faith in Christ.
They're in Christ for eternity. It's the only way it can be.
It's the only way it can be. He can't have anything to do
with us outside of Christ. Justified in the Beloved. Accepted in Christ. Glorified. All the promises of God. Abraham was fully persuaded that
what he had promised, he was able to perform. The world is full of silly men. Silly men who pride themselves
in being silly. They pride themselves in it.
What God opens, no man can shut. And what he opens, he shuts so
that no man can open it. Don't be silly. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would instruct our hearts from thy word and
that you would just shut us up to Christ. For it's in his name
we pray. Amen. Let's stand, Tom. Number
32 in the Psalm.