It's truly a blessing this evening
to have our friend, Pastor Tom Harding back with us. Brother
Tom, I know, I'm sure everybody knows Tom. Zebulon Baptist Church
down in Pikeville, Kentucky. Twenty-three years you've been
down there, Tom. And Tom and Bridget got in this
afternoon. We've had a wonderful time with
them. today and I'm looking so forward, Tom, to the message.
You come preach for us, buddy. My pleasure to be with you. Doesn't
seem like it's been one year since I've been here, but time
goes by so quickly, doesn't it? I was here a year ago and brought
a gospel message to you, for you, I appreciate your pastor
here, dear wife, and their fellowship and hospitality. Thank you for
inviting me to be with you. I want you to take your Bible
this evening and let's turn to 2 Kings chapter 6. 2 Kings chapter 6. For the last several years I've
been studying through 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. And I've got here to chapter
6, 2 Kings chapter 6. Look at verse 1, we'll read down
to verse 7. Very familiar story. And the
sons of the prophets said unto Elisha. Now this is the understudy
of Elijah. You remember Elijah cast his
mantle upon Elisha. prophet of God. Behold now the
place where we dwell with thee is too straight for us. That
is, it is too small for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto
Jordan and take thence every man a bean. That is, let's cut
down some trees and let's make us some beans, some timbers to
build the rafters and to build the floor and let us make a place
there." They had outgrown their school for the prophets and they
desired to build a bigger building. Let us make a place there where
we may dwell together. And Elisha answered, well, go,
go ye. Verse 3 and 1 said, Be content,
I pray thee, go with thy servant. or go with thy servants, and
he answered, that is the prophet of God, and I love the way the
scripture calls him, the man of God. The man of God, Elisha
answered and said, I will go, I will go with you. So he went
with them, And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood."
Now notice, when they came, they cut down wood. I take that to
mean that Elisha, the prophet, the man of God, participated
with them in chopping down some trees to construct this building. But something happened here while
they were going about the Lord's business, verse 5, but as one
was felling a bean, The axe heads fell, or it says in the marginal
reference, the iron axe heads fell into the water. Somehow
the axe broke or the handle splintered and when he reached back to take
another whack at that tree, it flew off, went into the river
of Jordan and he cried and said, Alas, my master! For it was borrowed. He was very concerned about losing
this instrument and this tool that he had borrowed. And the
man of God, the man of God said, where fell it? And he showed
him the place and he cut down a stick. Now that word, that
same word, their stick, is rendered other places tree. I get the
idea that he didn't just go over to a tree and cut off a limb
or branch or twig to put it down in the water and try to fish
it out. He cut down a tree and he cast the tree into the river. Now this sounds rather strange,
doesn't it? But no doubt he did this by the
direction of God. And he cast it in thither, and
the iron did swim." That is, that axe head, when it fell off
that axe handle, went down and fell into the muddy Jordan River,
sunk down in that muddy water. They couldn't see it, and they
knew that they could not retrieve it, not naturally speaking. Cast
it in thither, and the iron did swim. Now, this doesn't happen naturally,
does it? An axe head is going to stay
in the mud. Therefore, said he, to the man who had lost it, this
is Elisha talking to the young prophet, take it up to thee,
and he put out his hand and took it in and rejoiced and went back
to work. Now I'm taking the title for
the message from what is said in verse 6, the iron did swim. The last line in verse 6, and
the iron did swim. Now it didn't simply float upon
the water, God caused the iron axe head to swim like a fish. like a fish through the water.
That is, God calls the axe head to act totally contrary to its
nature. Its nature would have stayed
right there, sunk in the mud, deep, dead, and lost. And it would have stayed right
there unless God intervened. That's a picture of God's sovereign,
saving mercy. You see, we, like that axe head,
lost, dead, in the mud of sin, and we would stay right there,
being content, until God, in His sovereign grace, until God,
in His sovereign mercy, cast in the tree, and that's the picture
of the gospel, Christ crucified, that caused the iron to swim,
to swim. We sang just a moment ago, Hallelujah,
what a Savior, who can take a poor lost sinner, lift him from the
miry clay, lift him from the miry clay and set him free. I will ever tell this story,
shouting glory, glory, glory, hallelujah. He ransomed me. You see, everything we read in
this book we call the Bible, everything we read is about the
Lord Jesus Christ. Somehow, someway, it all is relative
to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see in
this story another miracle The Lord performed through his prophet
the man of God called Elisha. Elisha, which means God is salvation. That's what his name means. It
was a miraculous miracle by the will of God, by the power of
God, by the purpose of God, and it was given to us not to entertain
us, not to scientifically figure out how that iron could swim
in the water, It was given to us to teach us the gospel of
God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in the book of
Romans, for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, He is our hope, Christ in you, He is the hope of glory. We have a good hope, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is our everlasting consolation,
and we have a good hope through grace, grace alone. God saves sinners by His sovereign
grace, and that's the only kind of grace that this book teaches,
is sovereign grace. You see, all Scripture is God-inspired,
God-given, to show us the Lord Jesus Christ. We sing that song
sometimes, Show me thy truth concealed within thy word, and
in thy book revealed, what do we see? In thy book revealed,
I see the Lord. Don't you? We see the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now several scriptures teach
us that, if you'll find over here in Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. You remember
the risen Lord walking along the road and these two men come
near unto Him. Verse 25 of Luke 24, Then said
He unto them, O fool, slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken. Who was Elisha, prophet of God? What did he speak about? Well,
the Lord Jesus Christ. To Him give all the prophets
witness, ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and
to enter into His glory? And beginning of Moses and all
the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, in
all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. This book is all about our blessed
Savior. Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
you are they which search the scriptures, and in them you think
you have eternal life, but they are they which testify of me. It's all relative to the Lord
Jesus Christ. The many miracles of the prophet
Elisha, and I didn't know as I started studying about The
ministry of Elisha, many of the old commentators call him the
miracle prophet. The many miracles that God wrought
by the hand of the prophet Elisha, but the many miracles the prophet
Elisha was able to accomplish by the will and power of God
pale in comparison to the greater prophet. Who's the greater prophet? The Lord Jesus Christ. God said,
I'll raise up a prophet from among the brethren, and I'll
give him my word, and he will speak my word, and he will proclaim
my word, and those who refuse to hear him will be accountable
unto him. John the Baptist sent some of
his disciples unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and they asked this question,
Are thou he that should come? Or do we look for another? And
the Lord answered, you go and show John those things which
you do hear and see. Are you that prophet? Are you
that Christ as promised of God? And the Lord answered that question
this way, the blind receive their sight, the lame walk. Lepers are cleansed, the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached
to them. Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me."
The Lord Jesus Christ did so many miracles, so many mighty
works, that the last verse in the book of John says that if
all were recorded, of which he did, the world itself could not
contain the volume of the material that would require to write of
everything and all the miracles that the Lord himself performed. Now, I want us to consider here
this whole story of what happened and then we'll make a gospel
application unto us. In verse 1 we learn that the
school of the sons of the prophets soon became too small to properly
and comfortably house those to sit at the feet of Elisha and
learn from God's prophet, to learn God's message. Now wouldn't that be something?
To sit at the feet of the man of God and to hear from Him the
very truth of God and the Word of God." Now, at this time in
Israel, they didn't have the benefit that we have to have
the completed record of Scripture. But God spoke through these men
and blessed His people. But think about this. Even though
at this time Israel had a king, you remember the kingdom was
divided at this time, the northern tribe Israel and the southern
tribe Judah, And Elisha's ministry was mainly to those of the northern
tribe of Israel, the ten tribes. But even though that Israel had
a pagan king, and even though idolatry was widespread in Israel,
and even though Gehazi, Elisha's right-hand servant, betrayed
his master, betrayed Elisha, and went out and asked a reward
from Nahum and the leper who had been healed. And even though
all this was going on, and Gehazi was severely judged for his covetous
and greedy desires, you remember, he was made a leper. And his
family was also cursed because of his unbelief and rebellion
against God. But in spite of all the difficulties
that were going on, The Lord still blessed His elect in the
land. So much so that the prophet's
school had to be enlarged. They needed a bigger building.
The Lord kept calling men and putting them into ministry and
blessing those people even in spite of all the difficulties
in the kingdom. All that was going on in that
day. It did not hinder the purpose of God, did it? God's will will
be accomplished. Nothing can hinder the purpose
of God in building up and establishing His kingdom. Can it? Can anything hinder the purpose
of God? Our Lord said, I will build my
church and the gates of hell shall not, shall not, cannot,
will not prevail against it. When we might be tempted to think
that all is bleak, black, gloomy, and desperate, the Lord will
always accomplish His purpose and will continue to bless His
people wherever they are. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. He said, I will never leave you,
I will never forsake you, lo, I am with you always. Even in
the midst of the great turmoil in our world and in our land,
sometimes they seem to be a ball of confusion, don't they? God
is not the God of confusion. God is the God of order. He said,
Of him, and through him, and to him are all things to whom
be glory, both now and forever. Amen. Even though we live in
perilous times in our day, nothing can hinder the purpose of Almighty
God. He said, I worketh all things
after the counsel of my own will. All is well in the kingdom of
God. The cause of Christ is certain and sure. All the promises of
God in Christ are yes, in Him, and amen to the glory of God. The purpose of God cannot fail. He said, I've spoken it. I bring
it to pass. I've purposed it. I will do it. The foundation that is laid by
God in the Lord Jesus Christ will not crumble. Our God cannot
fail. It said that in Isaiah 42. I
cannot fail. Cannot be discouraged. Therefore,
we shouldn't be discouraged. Our God is on the throne, ruling
and reigning over all things. The foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. He
said, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone, a trident
stone, a precious cornerstone, Those who rest upon that foundation
that God has laid will never be forced out, will never be
confounded, will never be ashamed. We are safe and secure in the
hands of our blessed God, who is the God of all the earth. He said, I am God, beside me
there is none other. God will continue to call out
His elect. The Lord is still adding unto
His church daily such as should be saved by His grace. He will
continue to bless His people and supply our every need. And
make no mistake, He will come again and receive us unto Himself. I love that verse over in the
Revelation. I know your pastor has studied
and preached through that book several times. But it says there
in Revelation chapter 1, it says, Behold, He cometh. He cometh. What does that mean? I'll tell
you what it means. That means He's on His way. Behold,
He cometh. And you might remember how the
book closes, Even so, come Lord Jesus. Come, I'm looking for
His soon coming. May it be in His good pleasure
and in His good time and we'll all say Amen. So be it. The schoolhouse being too small,
to house a growing number of prophets to ask Elisha if they
could build a larger building. They didn't take on that project
without his permission, without his leadership, without his blessing,
without his instruction, without his presence. and without the
blessing of the Lord, as it says there. Let us go, we pray, unto
Jordan, and take then to every man a beam, and let us make us
a place where we may dwell." And he said, go. But they didn't
go without asking his leave. Verse 3, And one said, Be content,
I pray thee, go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So
he went with them, and when they came to Jordan, and they cut
down, they cut down the wood. These young men were eager to
roll up their sleeves and do the work themselves, weren't
they? They said, let us go out in the
forest and let us fell some trees, let us cut down some trees, let
us make some beams, let us get to work. You see, they were fellow
laborers in the ministry of the Lord. This is the right attitude
for all those placed in the ministry. And all believers are in the
ministry one way or the other. They're all in the body of Christ.
They all are servants of God, serving God's purpose. And they
minister unto the Lord as they minister to the Lord's people.
We're to love one another, and to pray for one another, and
to help one another. When there is a work, the servant
of the Lord, when there is a work of the Lord to be done for the
furtherance of the gospel and for the good of the Lord's church,
let us go about the work with zeal in our heart for the glory
of God and He will bless it. He will bless it. If you'll find
over here in 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Our labor in the Lord is not
in vain. We are fellow workers together. Ministers one of another. If
you find 1 Corinthians 15, look at verse 57. But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord. In the work of the Lord,
for as much as ye know, that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord. As a matter of fact, the Scriptures
teach us that whatsoever we do, whatsoever we do in word or deed,
do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to
God the Father and by Him. What a blessing it is to be called
a servant of the Lord. That's the title, a fit title
of every believer whom God has put in the body of Christ. They
all serve God's purpose. The Apostle Paul referred to
himself many times as the servant of the Lord. I instructed the
men of our church when the Lord is pleased to take my soul and
spirit out of this body and when they put this body in the ground
and they fix a name on that gravestone to put my name and then put a
servant of the Lord. That's a high title. The Lord
Jesus Christ in Isaiah 42 verse 1, God said, Behold, My servant,
whom I uphold, mine elect. That's a high title. What a privilege
it is that God has given us the privilege to serve Him in whatever
capacity it may be. Whatever capacity it may be,
do it with zeal in your heart to the honor and glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Something else, these men, they
desired Elisha's presence to go with them for this work detail.
Reminded me of the prayer that Moses prayed. In Exodus 33 he
said, if thy presence, he said to the Lord, if thy presence
go not with me, Don't let me go. Carry me not up hence, unless
you go with me. You know we have that promise
of the Lord. You remember in Matthew 28, the risen Lord said
to those disciples, all powers given unto me in heaven and earth,
go ye therefore and preach the gospel to every creature. And
then he said this, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end
of the earth. We never serve the Lord alone,
He is always with us." You say, well, I don't feel His presence.
He didn't ask you to feel His presence. He said, believe my
word, I'm with you always. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. They not only desired Elisha's
presence, but they did not want to leave off hearing the instructions
from God. Even when they were out there
in the forest chopping wood, they desired to be under the
preaching of the gospel. Elisha represented to them the
Word of God, the voice of God to these men. They needed him
because they needed to hear a word from God. And here's the thought
for us. Blessed are those people who
have a need to hear the Word of God Constantly. Some of you have been coming
here, how many years? 30, 40, 50 years, hearing the
same message over and over and over again. And it never gets
old. It's always new. It always revives
our heart, doesn't it? We need to hear of Him. Constantly. Blessed are those people who
have a need to hear the Word of the Lord. His Word is a means
whereby God speaks to us, He feeds us with the Word of Truth,
blesses us with His Word, instructs us with His Word, and He reveals
Christ unto us through His Word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of the Lord. The Apostle James instructs us
to sit at the Lord's feet and be swift to hear. Swift to hear
what? Swift to hear Him. Him. Thy word, the psalmist said,
is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Elisha, when he
was asked to go with them, look what it says there. He said,
verse 3, I will go. I will go. He was ready. He was ready to go. He was ready
to the task. It reminds me what the Apostle
Paul said in Romans 1. For as much as in me is, I'm
ready to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome. For I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It's the power of God
and the salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew or
to the Gentile. For therein is that gospel, is
the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is
written, the just shall live by faith. when the Apostle Paul
was sitting on death row in Rome, wrote back to young Timothy.
You remember his last word and his last charge in chapter 4?
I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the
Word. Be instant. Be ready. In season. Out of season. Reprove. Rebuke. With all longsuffering
and doctrine. Teaching. Teaching. God's servants
are always ready to roll up their sleeves, put on their work boots,
and get down in the mud if necessary. To serve the Lord's purpose.
Is there any task beneath are doing, if it requires us to get
down in the mud. Some of you came down to Pikeville
and did just that. Got down in the mud and helped
us dig out that we might continue to minister and preach the gospel
to the Lord's people. And He's blessed us. He's blessed
that effort. He's blessed that work. God's
servants are ready, men, servants. ready to serve, ready to help,
ready to do whatever they can to assist God's people, to assist
others in their work of the ministry. Let me show you an example of
that. If you find Acts chapter 16, Acts chapter 16, when the
Apostle Paul had this vision in verse 9 of Acts 16, a vision
appeared to Paul on a night, there stood a man in Macedonia,
prayed him, begged him, saying, come over into Macedonia and
help us. And after he had seen the vision
immediately, We endeavored to go into Macedonia assuredly,
gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto
them." Well, you know the rest of the story, what happened in
Philippi with Lydia and her house, with the Philippian jailer and
his house. God raised up a church there. Paul was willing, able,
and ready to go. And that is true of all God's
servants. They're ready and willing to
serve Now look at verse 4 and 5. There's
a difficulty that came up as they were going about the work
of the Lord to build bigger prophets for this school, for this preacher
school, the sons of the prophets. So they went with him and they
came to Jordan and they cut down wood, verse 5, but as one was
filling a beam, the axe head fell into the water and he cried,
and said, Alas, my master, for it was borrowed. And the man
of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place,
and he cut down a stick or tree and cast it in. And the iron
did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up.
And he put out his hand, and he took it up. When they were
going about, to do the work of the Lord, a
trial was sent one of these young preachers, one of these young
prophets. The axe he had borrowed fell apart and the axe head flew
into the water. It was lost, sunk down in the
mud. And he became alarmed. Why so? Well, several reasons. He had
borrowed it and now it was lost. And he knew he couldn't replace
it. He didn't have the means to buy another one. But more
importantly, the work that was so vital to be accomplished,
he had no tool to complete the job, and he felt, I'm useless
now. I can't cut any more trees down.
And he felt useless. He felt he could no longer contribute
to the cause of God. You ever felt that way? Just useless. Maybe you think,
well, I'm too young. God can't use me. Maybe you think,
well I'm too old, God can't use me. Oh yes He can, and He does. Let us never think that we are
left useless. God will use whom He will, when
He will, for His own glory and His own purpose. This young man
was sent a trial, wasn't he? Trials are often sent our way
to make us more dependent upon our God, to strip us of any confidence
in the flesh, and to cause us to cry unto our God for help. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. You
know trials are called precious. There's not many things in the
Word of God that are called precious. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of Christ. He's given us precious faith,
to you who believe He is precious, but also trials from the hand
of our loving Father are called precious trials. 1 Peter 1, verse
6, wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need
be, you are in heaviness to manifold temptation, that the trial of
your faith, true faith, will be tried. God will send to trial,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto the praise and
honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having
not seen ye love, in whom, though now you see him not yet believing,
you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving
the end of your faith, even a salvation of your soul." Trials are precious. Our trials that the Lord sends
our way are only opportunities for God to manifest His love
and His mercy unto us. You remember the Apostle Paul
called our afflictions light afflictions, which don't work
against us, they work for us in exceeding ways of glory. And we know the Lord has promised
to give us grace sufficient in the time of trial. You who are
older, who have been in the way of believing the gospel of God's
grace, haven't you found that to be absolutely so? When God sends a trial, He also
gives us sufficient grace to endure that He might be honored
and glorified in all things. Verse 6 and 7 of our text, the
Lord sent another miracle to relieve the trial that he had
sent, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every
son whom he receiveth. Elisha, by a miracle, miraculous
power of God, says here that he cut down a tree, and cast
it in the muddy Jordan River, and made the axe-iron head to
swim, and the workman pulled it from the water, went about
his work rejoicing in the Lord." Thanking God. Just think the
benefit of that young man for that trial that was sent his
way. He was blessed, wasn't he? Oh, it was hurtful at first.
I lost my axe head. I can't cut down any more trees.
God put me on a shelf. But it turned out to be a blessing
unto his soul, a blessing unto his heart. You see, with God,
all things are possible. Anything too hard for the Lord?
Any difficulty, any trial, any circumstance too difficult for
the Lord? God can do whatever He will,
and He does. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, seas, and all deep places. Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory,
for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. And the heathen said to
David, Where is your God? Remember the answer? Our God
is in the heavens. and he has done whatsoever he
hath plead." He can make, our great God can make, an iron axe
head to swim like a dolphin. And He did. We can't, but God
can, and God did. Let us never despair in any trial
or any heartache, the Lord our God alone is the answer. It is
written, with God all things are possible. The things which
are impossible with men are possible with God. With God nothing shall
be impossible. Jeremiah put it this way, anything
too hard, too difficult for the Lord, He spoke a word and created
this universe. By the word of His power He sustained
and upholds all things. Isn't it amazing the order of
the universe? The sun, the seasons, the wind,
the stars remain in order. It's not confusion. God's a God
of order. With Him, all things are possible. Our Lord said, in this world
you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome. If you're in great trouble, my
friend, be of good cheer. Our God is a God who makes the
iron to swim. It's not needful or even best
for us to know how He can make the iron to swim. He does. It's best for us in our utter
helplessness to lift up our eyes into the hill from whence cometh
our help, to look to Him who made the iron to swim, to trust
Him, to believe Him, to rest upon Him, and see if He doesn't
fulfill all His Word. I love the last words of Jeremiah. or rather, Joshua, when he said,
of all that God had promised, not one word has failed. Not one word. We can believe
everything that God has said in His Word, and I'm persuaded
like Abraham of old, that of all that God has promised, I'm
persuaded that He is able to perform. So let us look to Him,
in all circumstances, in all seasons, at all times, and let
us rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us trust Him, believe
Him, rest upon Him, and see if He doesn't accomplish His purpose. He will. He said, come boldly
unto the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy. Why would
you stay away? He said, come boldly, come with
liberty to the throne of grace that you may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. Come ye all you who labor
heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn of me. My yoke is easy, my burden is
light. Come to Christ, believe Him,
rest in Him, trust in Him. I have a few more things I want
to point out. Let us see the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ in this brief story. We see a vivid picture
of that salvation that is of the Lord. The Lord, through the
means He employed, intervened. and recovered that which was
lost." That's what you read in Luke chapter 15. The first thing
I see here in regard to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is found
in verse 6. The man of God said, where fell
it? And he showed him the place and
he cut down a tree and cast it in and the iron did swim. The first thing Elisha did was
to cut down this tree, cast it in the muddy Jordan River. This
too is a picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
you say, well, preacher, you're stretching that awful far. No,
I'm not. No, I'm not at all. You see,
everything points to Christ. This is a picture of our blessed
Lord who made a sacrifice for our sin upon the tree. He bare our sin in His own body
upon the tree. God made Him sin for us who knew
no sin upon the tree, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Galatians chapter 3, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. For it is written, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. As it is written, curse is everyone that hangeth on a tree. You see, through Christ and Him
crucified, God recovers that which is lost, dead, and sunk
in the mud. That iron axe head, me, you,
lost in Adam. It fell off that axe handle. What happened in Adam? All fell. By one man, sin entered into
this world and death by sin. So death passed upon all men
in whom all have sinned. What is the only remedy to save
the lost? That soul that's sunk down in
the muddy river of sin? Jordan is a picture of the river
of death. What is the only remedy that
can recover this sinner sunk in the mud? Cast in the tree. Preach Christ to me, Christ in
Him crucified. Cast in the gospel tree. May
we be determined as the Apostle Paul not to know anything among
you, but Jesus Christ in Him crucified. This is the only message
that God will bless. The only message that God has
ordained to call out His people is the preaching of the gospel.
It's only the gospel that calls out and brings the lost sheep
home, is it not? Listen to this scripture. Christ
also once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, to do
what? To do what? Invite us to come. He's knocking on the door, won't
you let Him? That's not what it says. That He might bring
us unto God. You see, He's loved us with an
everlasting love and with loving kindness. He does what, Pat?
He draws us. He draws us unto Himself. He draws us. He said, no man
can come to Me except the Father which sent Me. Draw Him. Dead sinners are made alive.
Like that axe-head made to swim, you hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and in sin. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth." It's his will, his grace, and his power. It's his doing. That axe-head
was sunk in the mud. Did that axe-head contribute
anything to that swimming? Absolutely not. Incapable. No ability. Sunk in the mud and
dead. That's us. God must intervene. God must save. Here's a second
picture. The Lord Jesus Christ, we know
in Scripture, is called the Tree of Life. Revelation 22. Excuse me, I've got a little
bit of a case of bronchitis. You'll have to excuse if I have
to cough once in a while. I don't think it's contagious. No, I'm okay. I'm just about
done. But I appreciate that. But I'm going to tell you about
the water right now. Revelation 22, verse 1. And He
showed me a pure river of water of life. That's the water I need
right now. Clear as crystal proceeding out
of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the street
In the midst of the street of it, on either side, the river
was a tree of life, which bared twelve manner of fruits, yielded
her fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were of
the healing of the nation. With His stripes we are healed."
Now find Psalm 1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
tree of life. You see, He gave His life for
us. God made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. The Lord Jesus is this blessed
man, Psalm 1 verse 1, blessed is the man that walketh not in
the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. He's talking about
Christ here. But his delight is in the law
of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of waters, and bringeth forth fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth, It shall prosper. The pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in His hand. You see, this tree is Christ. Salvation is not what we do for
God. Salvation is what He has done
for us. That axe head was lost and without hope and without
God. And that's us. We too were lost
and dead in sin. And the only remedy for our deadness
in sin is Christ in Him crucified. He's the way, the truth, the
life. He is the life of salvation.
He is salvation and He's the tree of life. Salvation is in
a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. He that
hath the Son hath life. Thirdly is this. Give me just
a minute, I'm almost through. God through Elisha intervened
and made the difference. God told Elisha to cut down that
tree, cast it in the river, and that made the iron to swim. God intervened and made the difference
between the axe head remaining stuck in the mud or the axe head
swimming. This too is a picture of salvation. You see, it is the Lord Jesus
Christ who has made us to differ, right? Do you remember the Apostle
Paul asked this question? Who made you to differ from another?
Come on now. What's the difference between
you and your neighbor? God has chosen you and blessed you, granted
you faith, given you faith, ordained you to life. God has made you
to differ from your neighbor. Did you deserve any blessings? No. Not at all. But God has made
you to differ. He's given you life. He's given
you an interest in the gospel. He's granted you faith. He's
granted you repentance. Why did He do so? Because you
were so good? Oh no, just the opposite. He
did it because it pleased Him to make you His people. God chose a people in that eternal
covenant of grace. It's God who has made us to differ.
It's not of Him that willeth, nor of Him that runneth. But
it's God that show us mercy. It's always the sovereign intervention
of Christ with the gospel brought to our heart in the powerful
hands of God the Holy Spirit that causes us to have life in
Him. as many as were ordained to eternal
life, believe the gospel. Our gospel, Paul said, your knowing,
brethren, beloved, your election that's of God. For our gospel
came not to you in word only, it came that way, but with power. The power of God the Holy Spirit. That resurrection power. The
same resurrection power that raised the dead body of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's the same power by which
we believe the gospel. Read Ephesians 1 verse 19 and
20. Lastly, in verse 7 of our text, Take
it up to thee, and he put out his hand. He put out his hand
and took it. Now, let me ask you a question.
The putting out his hand and the taking it up, did it cause
it to swim? No, it had nothing to do with
it. God made it to swim. This man simply received the
miracle of God. That's salvation. By a hand of
faith, that's the gift of God, we reach out. Pastor Mahan used
to say, faith is a hand that reaches. Faith is the eye that
look to Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Faith is the ear that's quickened
and made alive to hear Him speak. Sinner? Live. by His power and
by His grace. He causes us to live and we simply
reach out and touch the Lord and receive Him. Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ, he's born of God. We do not believe
to be begotten of God. We believe the Gospel because
God has raised us from the dead and enabled us to believe Him,
to rest in Him, and to trust Him. Faith is not the cause of
salvation. Christ is the cause of salvation.
Faith is the means that God has ordained to receive the Lord
Jesus Christ. Life is given by the command
of God, yet we are commanded of God to lay hold on eternal
life. You remember what Brother Scott
used to say? And Brother Henry used to say, I love to quote
them old brethren, I cut my teeth listening to those preachers
preach the gospel. And Brother Henry and Brother
Scott would say, come to Christ, don't move a muscle. Remember? Come to Christ, don't move a
muscle. You see, we come to Him by faith.
We come to Him by believing on Christ, believing Him. Let me
quit with this. Turn to Acts chapter 13, I believe
it is, Acts 13, and I'll be done. Acts chapter 13, verse 38. Be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sin, and by him all that believe,
in believing the miracle of grace, A miracle of power, of God's
power. By Him all that believe are justified
from all things which you could not be justified by the law of
Moses. May God be pleased to cause us
to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our blessed Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, next time that someone would
ask you, would you believe that story? You know, I read over
there in the book of 2 Kings where God made that iron to swim. Did He really do that? Absolutely
so. And that is a picture of how
God saves sinners by His purpose. I love those two words. God marries
them together. Purpose and grace. God who saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, given us in
Christ before the foundation of the world. May God bless you
and may God bless His Word. to your heart and cause you to
swim in this ocean of faith in Christ. God bless you.