Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of John chapter 17. John 17. A few weeks ago I read something
from this passage that just really stirred my heart. And I wrote
an article on it and put it in last week's bulletin. And I just
thought, I want to preach on that. So Lord willing, I'd like
to preach on this subject this morning. Has the Lord prayed
for me? Has the Lord prayed for me? In John 17, I'd like to read
verse 20 and 21. The Lord in His high priestly
prayer said, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may
be one as thou, Father, art in me, I in thee, that they also
may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me." Now, the Lord Jesus Christ He is praying unto His Father
and He is praying in the presence of His disciples. They are listening
to what He said. Look at the last verse, look
at verse 33 of chapter 16. And the Lord is speaking to His
disciples. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the
world." These words spake Jesus, He's talking to His disciples,
and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, and He began
to pray. And so they're standing there
listening to Him. And in His prayer, He prayed
there in verse 21, Not only for those that the Lord
had given Him in His presence, but for those that shall believe
on Me through their word, that they all may be one as Thou,
Father, art in Me and I in Thee. That they may be one in will,
one in spirit. He's praying to the Father, keep
them as one. Keep them faithful. to the gospel. Keep them in unity with the Lord
and with one another and keep them unified in love and that
they can be one together. Now here's an amazing thing.
The Lord prayed that the Father would do this and this is the
reason. This is the reason why we're
one. That we're one in spirit, one
in will, one in belief toward Him, one in love to Him and to
each other. Here's the reason. Because the
Lord Jesus asked the Father to do it. He asked Him to do that. Now, here's the question. I know,
according to these scriptures, that the Lord prayed. for His disciples, but He prayed
not only for those that were there with Him right then, but
He said, but I pray also for those who shall believe on Me
through their word. Well now, He's praying with confidence. He knows. He's got some sheep. He's got some elect. He's got
a bride. And they're going to come. Look
at that wording right there, verse 20. Neither pray I for
these alone, but for them also which... You see that word? Shall. He didn't say might. They're coming. They're coming.
Salvation is a certainty. Now, the Spirit of God moved
on Isaiah the prophet to pin something concerning the Lord's
a prayer for his people. I'll just read this to you, Isaiah
53, 12. It says, therefore, and this
is God the Father speaking concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore
will I divide him a portion with the great. Actually, I looked
up what was being said there and it says, I will give many
to him. Now that's what the Father said.
I'm gonna give many to him. I'm gonna divide him a portion
with the great. And he shall divide the spoil
with the strong. That actually is saying he shall
spoil the strong, the enemies of his people. And how is he
going to do that? Well, Isaiah continued penning
because he had poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered
with the transgressors, and he bared the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors. I'm going to give him a people. Jehovah said I'm going to give
my son a people, a portion that was divided to him and based
upon the merit of his substitutionary death on their behalf. The Lord
has promised that he's going to spoil the enemies of the Lord
and the Lord's people and His son's gonna pray for him. And
the father who hears him is gonna answer his prayers. I'm gonna
give him a people, he's gonna die for him, he's gonna bear
their sins, he's gonna put away their guilt, gonna robe them
in his righteousness, he's gonna pray for him, and I'm gonna hear
his prayer. And I'm gonna give what he prays
for. Because he always prays according to God's will. Now,
when the Lord Jesus Christ died at Calvary, That very promise
given by Isaiah, or by the Spirit of God through Isaiah, was actually
openly heard. The scripture says in Luke 23,
34, as the Lord was dying on the cross, here's what he said,
then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, that is, forgive them for
my sake, for they know not what they do. Now, his prayer, being
prayed for his sheep. You know, we know this. When
we talk about the Lord praying at Calvary, He said, well, the
Lord was praying for all of them. No, no, He wasn't praying for
all of them. I'm going to look at that in just a second. But
I can tell you this, when He said, Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do, I know who He was praying for. He was
praying for His people. The Scripture says, that the
Lord made this very clear in His high priestly prayer before
He went to the cross. He said in John 17 6, I've manifested
Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world. I've manifested Your name, Your
character, Your glory to the men, to those You gave me out
of the world. Thine they were, Thou gavest
them me, they've kept Thy word. And then verse 9 of of John 17,
he says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which Thou hast given me, for they are Thine. So I know who the Lord was praying
for. When He said, Father, forgive them, He wasn't praying for everybody. He said, I don't pray for the
world. I pray for those that you've
given me out of the world. Thine they were and you gave
them me. Now, when the Lord prayed for
those at Calvary that were there mocking Him and wagging their
heads, found among that group, there were some sheep. And what
were they doing? They were doing just exactly
what the others were doing. They were mocking Him. They were
enemies in their mind just like everybody else. They were children
of wrath, not God's wrath toward them, but their wrath toward
Him. Children of wrath, even as others. All of us are born
haters of God. That's just the way we are, because
of sin. But when the Lord said, Father
forgive them, they know not what they do, that prayer was answered,
at least some were, because it's recorded. in the book of Acts.
Now hold your place right there and turn to Acts chapter 2. Acts
chapter 2. Hear the Lord praying for somebody
when he said, Father forgive them. Well, I know for a fact
that at least some of them at this point, what I'm about to
read, were converted. The Father who heard the prayer
of his son, the son praying according to the Father's will. He did
this, Acts chapter 2, look at verse 22 and 23. Peter's preaching
on the day of Pentecost. And he said, ye men of Israel,
hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man, approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know. being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."
Now, Peter didn't say there were some others that did it. He said
you did it. There were some there that obviously
were there at the day of the crucifixion. And he said that
the Father He was delivered by the determinate counsel of God
by wicked hands and you did it. You're the one, you took him,
you know. And look at verse 37 to 39. And when they heard this,
they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the
rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent. and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promise
is unto you and to your children and to all that are far off even
as many as the Lord our God shall call. Now what are we gonna do?
He said, you're gonna repent. Let me tell you something. Repentance
means change your mind. Have a new mind. And you can't do it. You cannot
change your mind. What shall we do? Here's what
you're going to have to do. God's going to have to do something
for you that you can't do. You're going to have to have
a changed mind, a changed attitude. Can a leopard change his spots?
Can the Ethiopian change his skin? No. No, and you can't change
your heart either. But this is what it's going to
take. What shall we do? Almighty God is going to have
to do something for us that we can't do for ourselves. He's
going to have to give us a new heart. Because by nature, an
old dead heart can't say to itself, I'm going to just make my heart
new. I'm going to change my heart. Now I understand, I understand
the concept of outward repentance. You know, somebody gets in trouble,
you know, and they get caught or something like that and they're
so sorry and they're going to, you know, I'm going to turn over
a new leaf. But anything that is born in adversity, goes away
in prosperity. Remember that. I'm telling you,
it's going to take a new heart. And so here the Lord has prayed,
Father, forgive them. They don't know what they do.
And so in mercy and compassion, The Father, by His Spirit, gives
a new heart of repentance. Repentance is granted. It's given
from above. You cannot repent. You can't change yourself. God's
going to have to do something. People, they think, I can do
something. I'm going to turn over this,
you know, and I'm going to go through this, you know. No. No.
It's going to take an act of God's mercy and grace. Whenever
the Lord prayed, He prays for people in particular. He told
Peter, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you
as wheat. I have prayed for thee that thy
faith fail not. That it doesn't quit. That it
doesn't stop. That it doesn't fail. Now you
consider how the Lord's eye is upon His people and the Lord
knew Satan's intent. He told Peter, you know, where
his strength was going to lie. Not in Peter's prayers and striving
and strength and ability and wisdom, but in the advocate himself. Satan hath desired to have you
and sift you as wheat. I prayed for you. I prayed for
you. When you're converted, Peter
was already a saved man. No, when you're taught, when
you're taught of your frailty, hey, he told the Lord, he said,
I tell you what, everybody else will quit on you. I'll never
crawfish on you. I can tell you that right now.
You won't catch me going back. Oh, they will. I won't. He said,
Peter, when you're converted, when you're taught, when you've
become Learned. Strengthen your brethren. When
the Lord prays, He prays for His people. He prays and He's
heard. Listen to this. John 11, 14 at
the tomb of Lazarus. Then they took away the stone
from the place where the dead laid, and Jesus lifted up His
eyes and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me,
and I knew that Thou hearest me always. But because of the people that
stand by, I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent
Me." So He continually prays for those given Him by the Father
because they're the Father's, and they're the Father's gift
to Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
intercessor. The Scripture says, Hebrews 7.25, Wherefore He is able to save
them to the uttermost. What does that mean? Perfectly.
Finally. Eternally. He is able to save
them to the uttermost. Who? That come unto God by Him,
all that the Father has given Him, seeing He ever liveth to
make intercession for them. So Christ prays for His people. It's never recorded that He prays
for the world in general. He said that. I don't pray for
the world. I don't pray for them. I pray
for those that the Father's given me. But in His high priestly
prayer, there's something else that's been revealed that should
bless every believer's heart. The Lord ever remembers the bride,
His church, not only those that have been born and believe, but
those who shall be born and believe. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,
that they may be one as we are one. What comfort it should be to
every child of promise to know that the Lord Jesus Christ has
always, forever, forever had us on His heart. That His heart of compassion
ever beheld That time of love when every object or vessel of
His grace would be called unto Himself, made willing in the
day of God's power. Now, even now, everyone that He has eternally
stood, as the surety before God. Everyone that the Father entrusted
to His hand, everyone that He died for and surely shall have
with Him in glory, He prays for. Before they had any interest
or concern for their eternal soul. Now you think about this. Before someone... I can, you
can too. You know him, you know this.
There was a time you didn't care. You just didn't care. I mean,
it's not that big a deal. That was our attitude. Before
you ever heard the gospel, before you were ever regenerated, had
faith imparted from above, before you were ever conceived in the
womb of your mother, If you're the Lord's, then the Lord has
eternally prayed for you. He's always loved you. He's always
rejoiced in you. I can prove that. Proverbs, I
love this passage of Scripture. I'm going through Proverbs and
I go back to Proverbs 8. I'll read it to you if you want
to turn, you can. It's Proverbs 8, verse 30, 31. Here's the Lord. Before He was
made flesh, He's always been the Eternal Son. If there's always
been a father, then there's always been a son. If there's always
been a bride, then there's always been a husband. But here's the
Eternal Son speaking of Himself before Jehovah, of whom He's
the fullness thereof. I can't understand it, but I
believe it. He said, Then I was by him, as one brought up with
him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him,
rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth. And my delights
were with the sons of men. You know what? There's always
been some sons that the Lord has rejoiced in. They've always
been His. They were always giving Him and
electing grace. That's what the scripture says.
There's always been an elect. But the question should arise
in our hearts. How can I know that the Lord
has prayed for me? I know that He prays for His
elect. He said that. He prays for all that the Father's
given Him. He said that. He said that He
prays for all those that shall believe on Him through their
word. But is there any comfort of assurance
to be found in my heart that my name is written in heaven
and that I'm one for whom He prays? Can I know something? You know, I need this. I want
to hear something that's going to give me some assurance. I'm
getting older. I'm becoming more and more aware
that I'm going to die. I know that. I've seen others
die. And I'm going that way too. And
I need to know that I'm included in that blessed group for whom
He prays. I want to know, is there something
in the Scriptures that can tell me or be a token or evidence
to me that I'm one of His own. If there's an evidence there,
that thrilled my heart. Just tell me something. Tell me what does the Word of
God say? I know what He said. I know what
He said about prayer. Now tell me something. Tell me
and show me from the Word of God. Don't give me your opinion.
I don't want to know what your opinion is. I want to know what
does the Word of God say that would give some assurance to
a needy sinner that the Lord has prayed for. Alright? I've got just a few questions
that I'm going to ask and I'm going to answer them from the
Scriptures. I pray that the Spirit of God bless this to our hearts.
I know you that know Him, you want to know. You know, you've
trusted Him. You know what you want to do?
You want to make your calling and election? Sure. That's what
you want to do. You want to know something. Just
tell me something. Well, here's the first thing
I want to ask you. Knowing that the Gospel, now
this is what the Scriptures declare. I'll just sum it up real quickly.
When I say the gospel, what is the gospel? The gospel is good
news. That's what gospel means, good news, good tidings. Here
is the good tidings that Almighty God eternally has purposed to
not let the human race perish. in their sins. Alright, let's
begin right there. The gospel declares that God
Almighty has eternally determined. Moses asked the Lord, show me
your glory. He said, here's my glory. I will
have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. And I will have compassion
on whom I'll have compassion. He delighteth to show mercy.
So I know this. I know, based on the little bit
that I know, I know that man's a fallen creature. I know that
all have sinned to come short of the glory of God. There's
none good, no not one. From the crown of my head, sole
of my foot, putrefying sores. I know this. I know this. I am
born from the scriptures. I know this. I am born dead. in trespasses, I know I'm a rebel
against God, because God's told me I am. I don't care what I
say about me. I know that God said I am. But I know this, that
the gospel declares that Almighty God has purposed that He's not
going to allow the totality of mankind to perish. And so out
of the totality of mankind, God has chosen. I know this. Out
of every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue, I know that
Ephesians 1 says that He's chosen a people. Out of the mass of
humanity, He's chosen a people. that He's going to save. I know that. The Lord Jesus Christ
said in John 10, 15, He said, I'm going to lay down my life
for the sheep. I'm going to redeem them. I'm going to pay their
debt before God. I know that. I know that the
Scripture declares that He's going to robe His sheep in His
own righteousness. He's going to pay their debt.
He's going to robe them. He's going to cleanse them by
His blood. The Father said, when I see the
blood, and I know that the blood was only shed for the sheep because
the Lord said that, when I see the blood, I'm going to pass
it over to you. Now here's the good news of the Gospel. God's
going to save somebody. The gospel is not Christ died
for everybody and it's left up to everybody to exercise their
free will and choose whether or not they'll accept it. That's
not the gospel. That's not the truth. The gospel
is God's gonna save a people that he's eternally loved. Christ
has redeemed them and the Spirit of God's gonna call them out.
Now here's what I wanna know. How is he gonna call them out?
Well, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1, 15, 16, for as much
as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at
Rome also for, or because of, or seeing then. I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. So I know this. There's only
one method by which God's going to call out His sheep. It's through
the hearing of the gospel. So here's my first question.
Have I heard the gospel of God's sovereign grace in Christ? Am
I sitting under a message that is consistent with what these
scriptures say is the gospel? Not what somebody else tells
me is the gospel. I want to know what the gospel is. The gospel
gives all the glory and honor and praise unto the Lord and
none to men. Not by works of righteousness
that we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. So
I know this, if I'm sitting under a message that makes man's works
to be the reason or source of his life, then I'm not sitting
under the gospel. And if the gospel is the only
way by which God's going to call out some sheep, here's what I
want to know. When it comes down to the Lord
praying for me, am I sitting under the truth? Am I hearing
the privileged blessing of God through the proclamation of the
truth? I know that the gospel is nonsense
for some, it's a stumbling block to others, but the Spirit of
God has declared this to be God's means of calling out His sheep.
Now if the Lord's prayed for me, and going to save me, I know
this, that the Spirit of God is going to get me under a message
that's the truth. I know that. I mean, doesn't
that make sense? It makes sense to me. Does it
make sense to you? I know it does. Listen to the
Apostle Paul, 2 Thessalonians 2, 13-14. We're bound to give
thanks always 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, whereunto
He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ. So, let me tell you something. It's by the grace of God that
we're here. Can you imagine if the Lord would have left us to
ourselves? I could be sitting anywhere.
I could be in any place. Man, I tell you what, I pastored
free will churches. Pastored them. I've relied on
God for years. And it's by the grace of God.
I'm standing in Katy, West Virginia, preaching the Gospel. This is
the only way God... So here's what, has the Lord
prayed for me? Well, first of all, are you sitting under the
truth? Here's my second question. Is
the hearing of the Gospel, in your heart, is it good news?
Is it the good news of Christ that's being heard, and is it
glad tidings to you? Do you rejoice in what you're
hearing? I mean, a lot of people sit and
hear it. You know, somebody says, yeah,
I sit and hear it. How long did I sit? First time I told you
this, first time I heard the gospel, I thought that's the
most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. That don't
make sense at all to me. That's contrary to everything.
But my question is this concerning whether the Lord's prayed for
me. Does this message rejoice my heart? Does the Spirit of
God bear witness to my spirit that this is the truth? This
is the truth. I was talking to Cody Groover
one day. We were down there in Mexico.
We were talking about that scripture that I told you, that we were
all children of wrath even as others. And I told Cody, I said,
you know God's never looked at his people in wrath because he
doesn't change. If he ever looked at them in
wrath, well, he's always looked at them in wrath and always will
look at them because he don't change. So God's never looked at his
people in wrath, but they've always had a wrathful spirit
against him. And Cody said, you know what,
Marvin? That bears record to my heart, witness to my heart.
That's the truth. He said, that's exactly what that means. And
I said, I think it does too. What I'm saying is, when we hear
the gospel, if the Spirit of God's done something for us,
and we hear it, then we rejoice in it. And if we rejoice in it,
it's because the Lord prayed for us. And God honored it for
His sake. So, you know, the Scripture admonishes
God's people. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. Now, what do we rejoice in? You know, I know when we hear
rejoice, we do. It's an emotion, I guess, but
what are we rejoicing in? Well, we rejoice in His grace,
which is always sufficient. We rejoice in His blood, that
cleanses us from all sin. Now, you know, Kevin, I just
got to believe that. I just have to believe it. I mean, somebody
said it cleanses us from all sin. And I don't see anything
in me but sin. But if I believe this gospel,
that has been preached, then I can say this, I believe God. I believe that He's cleansed
me from all sin. I rejoice, as I was talking about,
the imputed righteousness of Christ. In my mind's eye, when
I say the robe of righteousness, I picture kind of a robe, you
know? But again, I don't see anything in me that gives evidence
to that, but I believe God and I believe that He said, those
that believe Me were robed in His righteousness. That's my
only justification before God. I stand complete in Him. When God looks upon me, He sees
Him. I believe that. We rejoice in
His love. He said, I've loved you with
everlasting love. I believe that. I believe that His love never
fails. I rejoice in his providence.
I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. But
He said the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. I believe
He directs. I believe He gives a heart. I
believe He shows and He raises up and puts down and He orders
and I rejoice in His providence, you know, which always works
together for good to them that love God. And we rejoice in His
power to keep us. I'm so thankful that He keeps
me from falling. I quit. I rejoice in His promise. He
told me, you know what? He said, I'm not going to leave
you. I'm not going to forsake you. I believe that. I rejoice
in that because I'll leave myself. I'll forsake myself. And we rejoice
that He's coming back. I believe that. So my question
is this. Have you heard the Gospel? Has the Lord put you under a
message? Now you've read these scriptures before. Has He put
you under a message that's consistent with this Word? Are you sitting,
you know, yeah, I know I am. Well, is He giving you something
to rejoice in? Listen to this. Let me read something,
Acts 13, verse 44 to 48. This is a real blessing. I remember,
I told you this before. I got ejected from a pulpit. After the Lord taught me something
of Christ, I got ejected from a pulpit over this passage of
scripture right here. Acts 13, 44, 48. The next Sabbath
day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of
God. And when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled
with envy and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul,
contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold and said it was necessary. that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you. But seeing ye put it from you
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles. that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. But my question
is this. Do you rejoice in what you hear? I know you see the frailty of
your flesh. I know that. We all do. But are you rejoicing? Thirdly, I've got four questions.
Here's my third one. Do you truly want to cast off
and count as trash all the works of man honoring self-righteousness
and trust yourself totally to the mercy and grace of God in
Christ Jesus and come to Him by faith seeking mercy at His
hand. Here's what I'm asking you. Do
you want to come? Do you long to be with Him and
seek Him? And I'm not talking, well, I
came, you know, I'm 17 years old. No, I'm talking about right
now. I'm talking about right now. I'm not talking about 17,
35, 40 years ago. I'm not talking about that. I'm
talking about right now. Him that cometh to me. This is
the foundation of so many funerals that you hear people, well, I
know this, so and so, he got away from the Lord. But I remember
a time, he was 11 years old. I know he's 67 now when he died,
but he was 11 years old and he gave his heart to Jesus. And
you know, once saved, always saved. Well, here's my question. I'm not talking about something
that somebody's got to look back to, you know, years and years
and years ago. Today is the day of salvation. My question to you is this. Do
you want to come right now? Do you want to cast yourself?
Proverbs 8, 17 says, I love them that love me, and those that
seek me early, that means earnestly, shall find me. If the Lord has
prayed for me, then I know this. I have a heart in regenerating
grace that wants to come. He that cometh to me. God's people
don't ever quit wanting to come. I don't want to quit coming. Wouldn't it be a sad thing if,
you know, I just don't care if I really hear any more of Him
again. I don't care anything about praying. I don't care about
reading the scriptures anymore. What a horrible thought. No,
I want to come. If I want to come, it's because
He's given me a heart to. If I seek Him, it's because He
sought me. If I love Him, it's because He loved me first. And concerning seeking Him as
a helpless sinner, we seek because we have been sought, Isaiah 62.12,
and they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of
the Lord, and thou shalt be called sought out. a city not forsaken. So if there is a desire in your
heart to seek Him, in His Word, to seek Him in your closet of
prayer, to seek Him as He revealed in the Scripture, then you've
got a good hope. You've got some foundation of
confidence that the Lord has prayed for you. You're sitting
under the message. He's put you under the only message
that the Spirit of God is going to bless. He's given you a heart
that believes it and rejoices in it. And He's given you a heart
that wants to say, I don't care about all that stuff that everybody
told me I had to do. I had to keep up my religion. It's trash. It's trash. I need
Him. I need Him. Here's my fourth
one, last one, which is nothing more than a summation of everything
I've said. Do you believe and trust and
cast yourself upon the Lord Jesus Christ for all your salvation?
Here's my question. Do you truly see yourself as
unable? That's what I'm asking you. Do
you see yourself as a wretched sinner, lost, guilty in trespasses
and sins in yourself and worthy for eternal judgment? Unless
the Lord has shown mercy, you know you're going to perish.
Do you see yourself as a wretched sinner right now? Well, I used
to be one, but I'm not. Well, Paul didn't say I used
to be one. Paul said, Oh, wretched man that I am. This is one that
the Lord's prayed for. He sees himself right now as
a wretched sinner against God. But a wretched sinner that God
has saved. Christ, gee, this is a faithful
saying. Worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief, chief. Almighty God looked down from
heaven to see if there were any that did understand and seek
God, and here was the conclusion. They're all gone aside. They're
all together become filthy. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. And do you know what? Until we
leave this world, in our old man that's still with us. That's
exactly the way we are. That's the way we are. The gospel,
the good news, declares the truth that Almighty God has done something
for somebody. He's done it for Christ's sake,
on His merit, according to His blood, and has given them a new
heart. And they rejoice. And they want
to come to Him. And they see themselves continuously
while in this world still is wretched sinners that need to
be saved. Now, if you can hear what the
scriptures has got to say concerning what a redeemed and regenerated
sinner is like, and how God saves them, and you believe it, He's
given you a heart to rest in it, His Lamb is precious to you. You need Him. There's no other
place to go. But Peter said, where are we
going to go? You've got the words of the Lord. Where are you going
to go? Where are you going to go? And here's something that's going to give
you more hope. Do you believe that coming to
Him and Him alone by faith, faith that didn't originate with you,
must have been given from above, that God will save you from your
sins, if you believe that, then come. It's for such. that the Lord has died. Has the
Lord prayed for me? Well, I tell you this, I heard
Brother Scott say one time, if we find that by the grace of
God we meet the criteria of what God said He does for people. If we meet that criteria, we
don't put any confidence in our flesh whatsoever, we rejoice
in Christ Jesus, then I've got a good hope. that the Lord's
prayed for me. I pray that God bless this to
our heart and that it's a comfort to us. I needed it. I need some
assurance. I need to hear something to give
me some hope. I don't have any in me. I pray
that the Lord was glorified and that God's people were comforted
and edified for His sake. Amen.