Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the passage that we first considered, John chapter 13. He that receiveth whomsoever
I send, receiveth me." You know, that sets forth the
reception of Christ in a way that man by nature,
man in most places where men are standing preaching, that
sets forth the reception of Christ. in an entirely different light. Men by nature don't perceive
the reception or the belief of what God's preachers are preaching
as actually the reception of Christ, because it's the Word
that they set forth. The Word heard, the Word written,
that cannot be separated from the living Word. These words
that I speak unto you, Christ said, they are life. And He said
in John 14.6, I am the way, the truth, the life. I'm telling
you, if we speak according to these Scriptures, according to
God's Word. These words are life Himself. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1.21, for after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom
knew not God, but it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
To save them that believe. Boy, I tell you, that could have been another point I could
have added to those four things you must have. You must have
the hearing of the gospel. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing
by the Word of God. We must hear. For the Lord calls
and sends preachers to declare the gospel of God's grace and
mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. And remember, this, the gospel,
when it's heard in power, was not merely an invitation from
God. hoping that dead men would respond. They're never going to do it.
It is the declaration. It's not an invitation to be
received or rejected. When God sends His gospel in
power, it is the declaration of His will, the declaration
of His purpose to show mercy and compassion to whomsoever
He will." This is the only message that I know is absolutely going
to be blessed in salvation to God's people. I know that. That's
why we can stand with assuredness, because I know that the Lord
is going to do that which He's pleased to do. I know He's going
to do that. If you leave it up to men to accept it or reject
it and it's left up to them, there may never be any salvation,
if that's the truth. But I know that's not so. I know
this. I know, and I pray it be so today. I pray that Almighty God be pleased. And that's what He's going to
do. He's going to do that which He's pleased to do. I pray that
He blesses this to the salvation of His elect, the calling out
of His people. That He gives them a heart. And
this is what's going to happen. If God gives them a heart, they're
going to hear this. They're going to love it. They'll
receive Him through the preached gospel. And God's going to keep
them. He maintains them. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth
him that sent me." It is a dangerous thing, eternally dangerous, to
reject or to count with contempt God's messengers. That's a dangerous
thing. Matthew 10, 14 and 15. And whosoever
shall not receive you, nor hear your words when you depart out
of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily
I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. To hear the
gospel and then to leave, to not receive it, is damnable. Shake off the dust for a testimony
against them. In that day when all the witnesses
shall be brought forth, in the damnation of those that
rejected Christ and did so because they wanted to. The very dust
that did cling to the shoes, to the feet of those that preached
the gospel. That insignificant thing that
people count as nothing, just a little dust. I think my boots
are clean, I would say that microscopic examination would probably determine
that they're not. But the very dust that clings
to the feet, to the shoes of the preachers of the gospel will
rise up in condemnation. But with so many false prophets
and preachers in the world, how do you know He that receiveth
whomsoever I send." How do I know who the Lord has sent? 1 John 4. Turn with me there for
a minute. 1 John 4. Verses 1 to 3. Again, many passages that we've
dealt with before. that needs to be dealt with again. 1 John 4, verses 1-3, Beloved,
believe not every spirit, every proclaimer, believe not every
person that stands in a pulpit and proclaims something. But try the spirits, whether
they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and
this is that spirit of Antichrist whereby ye have heard that it
should come, and even now already is in the world." Now, someone
could say, well, that's pretty easily understood by me. I believe
that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. But unless we understand what
is being said concerning the Lord Jesus Christ coming to flesh,
again, it's going to come down to what do you believe concerning
why He came in the flesh. To say that men will accept the
truth that He came in the flesh, demons accept that. Anybody accepts
that. Anybody believes that He went
to the cross. But went to the cross and died
according to the Scriptures. Why did He come? Why did He come? The Scripture
sets forth that Almighty God, before the foundation of the
world, And again, separate him coming into this world from the
truth. I could have you turn to these
scriptures for the sake of time. Ephesians 1 verse 4. Almighty
God chose a people from before the foundation of the world.
Revelation 5 says that those that were redeemed were redeemed
out of every kindred and nation and tribe and tongue. Almighty
God chose a people, Jew and Gentile, men and women, bonded free, rich
and poor, some noble, not many, the dregs of this world that
people consider to be dregs. That the Lord Jesus Christ was
given a people from before the foundation of the world that
He always was. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, He's always been. He's always been. There was never
a time He was not always flesh, but He's always been. This has
never been an act of thought. This is from before the foundation
of the world, eternally, Jesus Christ coming to flesh. He came into this flesh to seek
and to save that which was lost. How do you know that? Try the Spirit. And how are you
going to try them? I'll just turn to this. Acts
17, 10 and 11. How do you know? How do I know
that Almighty God elected a people? Try the Spirit and try them according
to God's Word. Acts 17, 10 and 11. And the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night into Berea, who coming further
went into the synagogues of the Jews. And these were more noble
than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind." They heard it. They received it. They believed it. And they checked
it out. They searched the Scriptures
daily whether these things were so. I've said before, never,
never. You may hear something I say,
and you say, boy, that sounds good. Check it out. Check it
out. Find out if what I'm saying is
not so. And if there appears to be something
that contradicts what I say, then come ask me. And let's look
in God's Word. And I'll be the first to admit,
If I err, I'll be the first one to stand up and tell you, I was
wrong. But if this is what God has to
say, this is God's Word. Try the spirits. Test them. Examine them. Find out if this
is what God has set forth concerning truth. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. Every spirit, every preacher that confesseth Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is of God. He came into this world. He came to save His sheep. He came to redeem His sheep. He came to put away their guilt. He came to die in their stead. And He was successful. He shall
not fail. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ came to do the will of the Father, to redeem
His people, all of the children that God had given Him, here
they are. I've lost none of them. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. He that confesses that is telling you the truth. He's
not lying. In the beginning was the Word.
Word was with God. The Word was God. John 1.1. And the Word was made flesh. He's always answered. He's always
stood. And in the fullness of time,
came forth, born of a virgin, made flesh, made under the law.
The Scripture says, Isaiah 9.6, before He ever came, actually,
here's the surety, for unto us a child is born. He had not been born yet when
Isaiah penned that. He was according to God's will.
According to the eternal God. Done. God's Word who cannot change. When it actually took place,
Almighty God had declared the end from the beginning. Under
us, a child is born. Under us, a son is given. And
the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Those that God send preaches
this. The message of God's sure and
eternal grace to His people. He's all successful. There's
no darkness in Him. It's all light. It's all yea
and amen. God Almighty satisfied His demand. Be ye holy. I dealt with this
last Wednesday. Be ye holy. You shall be holy. Like this song we just sang,
I look within and all is dark, vain, wild. Well, there's no
hope within. I can tell you that right now.
All of my hope is based on what God Almighty says concerning
the redemption and regeneration and preserving of His people. He that receiveth whomsoever
I sin receiveth me, and he that receiveth me Receiveth Him that
sent me." There's a reception of the Father. He who loved a people, chose
a people, gave them to the Son. That's what Ephesians 1 verse
4 says. The Father chose. He who has
the right, and in closing, All that the
Lord sends declares that the Lord Jesus Christ was sent from
the Father, chosen by the Father, that He was God's elect, and
we are the elect in Him. And those that receive Christ,
who receive Christ's messages, receive the Father. He who saves on purpose. About three or four verses, just
read them with me and I'm going to close. Matthew 1, verse 21. If a preacher preaches this,
these next few verses I'm going to read. If he preaches this,
he's sin of God. He preaches it, preaches it heartily,
convincingly, lovingly in his heart. God sent him. Matthew
1.21. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, Savior. For he shall save
his people from their sins. I'll read that
last phrase one more time. Father of spirits. There's no
possibility in God's salvation. There's no possibility. There's
no maybe. There's no, I hope so. Maybe
if I talk long enough, maybe if I sing just as I am 40 times,
maybe you'll just get tired and decide to walk down. No. For He shall Save, that to me
sounds like positive. This is what those that Christ
sends preaches. He shall save, who? His people from their sins. He shall save. I love this gospel of surety. This is absolute. And I'm telling you, every one
of His people is going to believe that truth. He shall save His
people. And He's going to save them from
their sins. He's going to save them from themselves. Luke 19. Luke 19, 5-10. Luke 19. The Lord Jesus Christ coming through
Jericho. A young fellow, a short fellow. Zacchaeus. Couldn't see. Too short. Couldn't see. Climbed up the sycamore tree. And when Jesus came to the place, Jesus came to the place. That
place that was established before the foundation of the world. That place where absolute mercy
was going to be shown. That place where God Almighty
was going to have compassion. When Jesus came to the place,
He looked up. What difference does it make
who else looked? He looked up. And he saw him. He saw him. And he said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. For today I must abide at thy
house. And something happened with that
word power was imparted. And in the day of God's power, Zacchaeus made haste. He couldn't get down that tree
fast enough. He came down. and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying that he was going to be guest with a man
that was a sinner. A sinner. Zacchaeus stood and said unto
the Lord, Behold, Lord, The half of my goods I give to
the poor. And if I've taken anything from
any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Lord, I was a thief. I was just
a stinking thief. And it never bothered me. It
never made a bitter difference. And Jesus said unto him, This
day is salvation come to this house. For as much as he also
is a son of Abraham, in mercy, in compassion, not just in genealogy,
but this is a true, this is a true history of life, spiritual. For
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Lord, have mercy on us for Christ's
sake.