I was thinking about that song
just then. Turn to Proverbs 18. You know, we know that God's
going to save His elect, don't we? You know that. You know that. Let me ask you this. Do you have
a desire to come? Then come. Trust Him. Looking
away from any work of self-righteousness. Don't look to your profession
of faith. That's the evidence. Don't look
to baptism. That's water. That is the confession
of what the Lord has done for you. I know that He died for
His sheep. Why not for me? Why not for me? Proverbs chapter 18, verse 13, He that answereth a
matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. You know, we've just gone verse
by verse in this book. This is the way the Spirit of
God wrote it. I've said before, we are most
blessed that we would have a Bible and be able to open it and read
and hear God's Word. What a blessing that God would
give His people a heart to want to read and hear His Word. Here's
what the Spirit of God says. Solomon penned it. The Spirit
of God wrote it, said it. He that answereth. He that turns away from and rejects. That's what it means. a matter,
a word, before he heareth it, and that is carefully considers
it. He that rejects something before
he truly understands what he's saying. It is folly and shame
unto him. You know, have you ever heard
somebody in their they're trying to, either a debate
or something like that and they're both talking. They're both talking
at the same time. You know, and when they both
start talking to each other at the same time, I just want to
change the channel. You know, because I'm thinking, you know
what, this is ridiculous. Now, there are some things that
somebody could probably hear and it really didn't matter. It's still rude. It's rude. And it's arrogant. If you're
wanting to tell me something and I don't have the common courtesy
to just at least let you say it, I'm just rude. I'm arrogant and I'm just exposing
my ungraciousness. That's all I'm doing. When it comes to something that
doesn't matter, well then that's fine. I mean, we can get over
it. But now, when it comes to the
matter of a man's soul, we're just a small group of people
here this morning, but one of these days we're all going to
be in a great throng and we're all going to be standing
before God. We don't know where we'll be in the crowd, but we'll
be there. And in that day, everything that
our Lord has set forth in this book, if you want to know what
the evidence is on the Day of Judgment, here it is. This is
the evidence right here. What saith the Scriptures? I
want to hear what this book's got to say. And I want the Spirit
of God to teach me. And I want to take sides with
God against myself. Because I'm going to tell you
something. I know me. I'm hard-headed. I'm arrogant. I'm opinionated. I've just That's just the way
that I am and I have a sneaking suspicion you are too. All of
us are born with an attitude that wants what I want. Now, the one whose word endureth
forever. His Word is going to stand and
I know that. I know that. I know that. So the best thing for me to do,
let me speak for myself and you answer for yourself. Let me tell
you the best thing for me to do is for me to be quiet. I need to be quiet and I need
to hear what Almighty God has to say, I need to be quiet and
I can make good on that. Listen to this, Ecclesiastes
5.2, Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty
to utter anything, any word before God. For God is in heaven and
thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few. The best thing
in the world for me to do is to hear what God has to say and
for me to hush. That's the safest place to be
and believe Him and believe God. James 1.19 says, Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath, let us seize upon every opportunity to hear the
Word of God preached. Oh, Lord, help me not to miss
an opportunity to hear what You have to say. You know what everything
else, how everything else falls into that category of, you know,
here's what God has to say. You know what everything else
is? Nothing. Vanity is vanity. All is vanity. Everything else,
only what God has to say. Let's be slow to speak against
what God has to say. May I be truthful as I stand
before you? I said a few minutes ago. I'm
just a voice. These are not my words. I believe
them. Paul said this is our gospel.
This is the gospel of God given to us. We're just stewards. I'm
just a steward. That's all I am. I'm a steward. I've been entrusted with a stewardship. I have a responsibility and my
responsibility is to stand before God's people and tell you what
God has to say. That's what I've been called
to do, to tell you what God has to say. I have no other calling. Everything else fades into nothingness. Be content to hear and to learn,
slow to wrath. When the gospel is proclaimed,
When instruction is given and when sin is exposed, take God's
side. Take God's side. I'm telling
you that, oh, there's no other haven. Proverbs 14, 29, He that
is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is
hasty of spirit, that is, short of temper, exalteth folly. To disagree or to find fault
with a man is one thing, to disagree and find fault with God is soul
damning. Lord help me. Paul said in Romans 9, oh that
great, Romans 9 is one of those chapters, go back and read it.
setting forth the absolute sovereignty of God Almighty to show mercy
and compassion to whomsoever He willed. When He says, hath
the potter not power over the clay of the same lump, same lump,
to make one vessel unto honor and another vessel unto dishonor.
Do you know that there's not a spitting image of difference
between any of us right here? And do you know if God Almighty
Shows mercy to you and passes me by that He's right. He's right. He has the right. He has the
right to leave me to myself. To leave me alone. Just leave
me alone. And let me go to hell. He has
the right to do that. And He has the right to show
you mercy. Give you a new heart. And give
you a heart to believe and trust Him. He's got the right. Nay, but, O man, who art thou?
The apostle says it replies against God. This morning I want to just
say five things. Five things concerning what God
has declared. He that answereth a matter before
he heareth it, it's folly and a shame to him. He that rebukes
or answers against something before he hears. Now here's the
thing. I'm going to just, I'm going
to state these five things. And I'm not going to tell you
anything that you've never heard. I'm not going to tell you one
thing. Everything I'm about to tell you, you've heard it hundreds
and hundreds of times. I'm going to tell you from God's
Word. I'm going to back it up with Scripture. And it's for
all of us. I need to hear. Here's the first
thing. Here's the matter. He that answereth,
he that rebukes a matter before he heareth it, It's folly and
a shame unto him. Here's the first matter. All
men born in Adam are sinners. Dead sinners. Spiritually dead
sinners. That's the first thing. Every
man, every woman born in Adam is born spiritually incapable
of doing anything. You have no ability. Genesis
2.16, And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And Adam ate and
Adam died. Spiritual death means that there
is no Communication. There is no interaction with
God. There's none. Spiritual death
means there's no life there. Oh, I understand you're walking
around physically, but I'm telling you, If you want
to know the evidence of the lack of spiritual life, just speak
to someone that doesn't know anything, that the Spirit of
God has taught nothing of the Gospel, and listen to what they
have to say concerning God, who God is, who man is. You're thinking,
that is absolutely contrary to Scripture. There's nothing to
draw from. There's no life there. The scripture
says, for as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So, the first point, all men
are born sinners. And sin has one end, death. Death. That's it. Mankind been
created by God and God Almighty has the dominion. And the Lord
said, The soul that sinneth is going to die and all are accountable
to Him. He rules. He's God. So here's
the first point. Man is born dead. Now listen. Here again. He that speaks against a matter
before he hearth it, it's falling and ashamed unto him. See, man
by nature says, I don't believe that. I don't believe. I believe that a man can respond. Don't speak against a matter
before you hear it. God says that we're born dead. Here's the second thing. Except
a man repent, he shall die in his sins. And Luke, I'll read
this if you want to look at Luke 13. Luke chapter 13 verses 1
to 5. Luke 13. 1 to 5. There were present at that season's sum that told
him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices. Jesus answering and said unto
them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans
because they suffered such things? I tell you nay, but except you
repent, you shall all likewise perish. Of those eighteen upon
whom the tower of Siloam fell and slew them, Think ye that
they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell
you, nay. But except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish. Repentance means a change of
mind. Change of mind. It doesn't mean
start acting more religious. It means a change of mind. And it's a change of mind on
how God justifies a sinner. How should man be just with God? The Scripture says that man is
just with God by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, putting
away his guilt, paying man's debt, and robing that man in
the righteousness of Christ, making that man in Christ holy. He's just before God, no guilt.
New man created in righteousness, no sin. That which is born of
God sinneth not. How's man? He's not justified
before God by walking down an aisle. So we got to think different. Here's the thing. Accept you
think differently. How are you going to think differently? God's going to have to give a
man a new heart. But listen to this. Do you know
Being dead in trespasses and sins does not excuse a man's
responsibility to repent. Scripture says that all men are
commanded to repent. All of them. Everybody. You said,
well, you just said that a man's dead in trespasses and sins. That's right. And you said that
except a man repent, he's going to perish. That's right. And
then you said, and even though he's dead in trespasses and sins,
you said that that does not relieve the responsibility to do what
you just said he couldn't do. That's right. Does not excuse
you. You say, well how can you prove
that? The scripture says he's not. The creation declares the
handiwork of God. Therefore, they are without excuse. No excuse. The soul that sinneth
and dies in sin, rebellion against God, has no excuse. Well, you didn't give me a heart,
no excuse. It was your fault, no excuse. You think man's not in a mess? You know, I'm telling you, man's
in a mess. Man is born thinking that he can. The Lord says, without
me you can do nothing. Here's the third thing. You must
be born again. You must be born again. Man is born spiritually dead. Except a man repents, he's going
to perish. You must have life given you
from above. Verily, verily, Nicodemus, I
say unto you, except a man be born again, that is, from above,
and has absolutely nothing to do with that salvation, with
that regeneration, the Spirit of God must create life in you and you are
not looking for it. You say, well now how are you
going to back that up? No man seeketh after God. The Lord looked
down from heaven to see if there were any that did good. And there wasn't
one. There was not. No man seeketh
after God. Well, then how is a man born
again? I'll tell you exactly how he's born again. Almighty
God, according to His will and His purpose and His choosing
and His work, chose to show mercy and comes in regenerating grace
when you were never looking for Him. No, you weren't. The Scripture says no man seeks
God. And He stopped you and stopped me on our high horse just like
He did Saul of Tarsus. And He said, live. Live. Why me? Why would He show mercy
to me? Because He chose to. Because
He chose to. Regeneration is one of those
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Born from above
is totally the result of God Almighty's purpose to show mercy
and compassion to whomsoever He will. You say, well, you're making
this thing totally Out of my hands. That's right. Here's my fourth point. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. I will, Jonah said, sacrifice. Here's the sacrifice of my mouth. I will sacrifice unto thee with
a voice of thanksgiving. I'll pay that which I vow. Salvation
is of the Lord. That means you don't have anything
to do with it. You had nothing to do with it. My friend, if
you sat under the gospel, it's because God put you there. If
you believed Him, it's because God gave you faith. If you believe
Him still this morning and you believed Him last week, it's
because you were kept by the power of God through faith, ready
to be revealed in the last time. Salvation is of the Lord. He
that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is falling
a shame unto him. This is the truth. Men are born
from above, not of blood. My son, and I have three daughters,
and I truly believe God saved them. I truly believe. I believe He has. I think He
has. I pray He has. I pray He saved me. But I can
tell you this, if He's shown mercy to my kids, it wasn't for
my sake. It was for His sake. Not of blood,
nor the will of the flesh. It wasn't that they decided.
Nor the will of man. I would want them to be. But
I don't have any power. I have no power to bestow life
upon them. How are they born? They're born
of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Not by might, nor by power, but
by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. No man, that's what
we read just a while ago. No man. He can. No man has the ability to come
unto Me except the Father which has sent Me. Draw him. Draw him
by grace and power. It gives him a new heart to come.
I was with Brother Todd Nyberg.
I was at the preacher's school. Todd asked me, He said, was it
a sacrifice for you to go to Fairmont? I said, no. Nope. No sacrifice at all. I wanted
to do it. A sacrifice is when you give
up something you don't want to. Something when you do it because
you didn't want to do it. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of His power. Why? Because salvation's of the
Lord. Here's the closing thing. Number
five. Salvation is sure to God's elect. John 17, 2. It's sure. John 17, 2. Lord willing, this
next week, we'll start in this 17th chapter. And I, oh, I'm
telling you, this is holy, this is truly, this is holy ground.
John 17, verse 2. Here's our Lord praying. He says,
as thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou has given him. The Father has given all power
unto the Son, that He would direct and move and raise up this nation,
put down that nation, put this person here and that one there,
put these two together, that He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father has given Him. For Him to give you eternal
life, He had to bring your parents together and all of the other
parents that ever went back to bring you into existence, to
give you life. Salvation is sure to God's elect. All that the Father giveth me,
John 6, 37, I love this passage, shall come to me. They're coming. And you know
what I'm doing this morning? Turn to Acts 13 as I close. This is the last verse I'm going
to read for this morning. Here's what I know. This gospel
is the only... Acts 13, 46 to 48 is what I'm
planning to read. This gospel is the only message
that's got any surety to it. is preaching a false gospel that
places all of the ability in people that are dead. Well, I
know that ain't gonna work. I know that's not so. But see,
I know this. I know God has an elect. And
I know that according to the Lord's Word, all that the Father
has given Him, I know they're coming. I know they are. I don't
know who they are, but I know that they are coming. And so
I know this, you set forth the truth that salvation's of the
Lord, that man has no power. I know that, I know that's true. You tell a man that he must repent,
and I can tell you this, if he repents, it's because God gave
him a new heart. I know that. And I can tell you this, it's
sure, it's sure. I know this, if God's going to
show mercy to you or to me, he's going to do it under this message
right here. The message that gives him all the honor, all
the glory, all the praise. What's wrong with that, Gary?
What's wrong with God getting all the honor? What's wrong with
that? Ain't nothing wrong with it. Acts 13. 46 to 48, 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, he's talking to the
Jews here, but seeing you 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." Don't you just love it when you
read You read of God's ability, God's power, God's glory, God's
honor. Just reading of God's sovereignty,
my heart just rejoices. I know these things are so. I
know, I know, by the revelation of God's Spirit, I know that
I was born impotent. I know, spiritually impotent.
I know that. I know that. I know that I The Lord spoken
to my heart, except you repent. And I know this, the only way
I would have a change of mind, He got to give me a new mind.
He got to give me a new mind. I must be born again. I must
be born from above. I must be kept, I must be taught. And I know it's sure. I look
back now over my life and I see how things kind of, you know,
how they worked out. And now, according to this Word,
all of these things were ordained before the foundation of the
world, predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. And
I love, I love setting forth that salvation is His. and he
gives it to whomsoever he will. Lord, bless these words to our
heart. Amen.