I'm of Paul, another. I'm of
Apollos. Are you not carnal? Who then
is Paul? Who's Apollos? The ministers
by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. I
planted. Apollos watered. But God gave
the increase. So then neither is he that planteth
anything, neither he that watereth. But God forgiveth the increase. The Lord told these people He
was talking to, I know you're Abraham's seed, but you seek
to kill me. My word hath no place in you. The Lord came right to the heart
of the issue. And he told them, he said, you
don't have any understanding. You don't believe me. And then
he gave them the reason that they don't believe him. He said
in verse 43, even because you cannot hear my word. You can't hear my word. Now men will hear that and they'll
say, Yes, I can. Yes, I can. I can hear the Word
of God. The Lord told them, because you
lack ears to hear and eyes to see. They were blinded by nature. And He was telling them, I'm
in right there. Right in front of them, they
heard the words that he was saying, and he said, you cannot hear
me. You're traditioned by nature. You're prejudiced against me. They couldn't believe him. Believe
in the gospel. Having a heart for the gospel
is a miracle of God's grace. that you believe this morning. If you believe God, if you have
no confidence in your flesh, you have no confidence whatsoever
in anything that you do or could do or would do, if you are able
to rest your soul on the mercy and grace of God, It's
a miracle. People talk about they're going
to have a miracle service. Healing service. I used to hear
that and I'd say, how do you know? How do you know? How do
you know that God's going to do it? How do you know that?
That's presumption. I'm going to have one next week.
How do you know? I'll tell you a miracle. is that
there are some folks sitting here that believe God. That's
a miracle. The Scripture says in John 1.12,
But as many as received Him, as many as believed Him, as many
as believed the gospel, to them, this is what had happened, to
them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name. Well, then the Lord continued,
He was going to reveal to His hearers, and all that would not
come to Him, He's getting ready to reveal to them the very heart
of why. He just told them, He said, you
can't receive My Word. You can't hear Me. You cannot
hear Me. And He's getting ready to tell
them, this is where we're going to start today. Now, before we look at this passage
of Scripture, 44-47, I pray that the Lord give us light on this
extremely serious subject. And what we're about to look
at, I'm telling you, is absolutely from the words of our Lord. This is God speaking. I've told
people before, I know people, they'll hear and they'll get
upset because somebody is setting forth God's sovereign grace. They're talking about God electing
a people. God choosing one and passing
by another one. And they get mad. They get angry. And you go over to Romans 9.
And you read where the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of
God's Spirit, said this, does the potter have the right to make one vessel of honor and
another vessel of dishonor? Does God have the right to do
that? God has a right to do whatever God wants to do. We're the clay. He's the potter. Who are we? The best thing in the world a
man can do is shut up. That's scriptural. That this
whole world keeps silent before Him. Be quiet. The Lord is in His holy temple. Let everybody be quiet. And pray Almighty God, give them
a heart to believe. Here He starts, and He's going
to tell them, He said in verse 43, why do you
not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word. And then he continues, and here's
where he starts. God speaking. You are of your
father, the devil. Your character, your actions
have been formed under satanic influence. And sadly, the natural mind completely
ignores, doesn't believe that, won't bow to that. Man's a rebel. God Almighty has told him he's
a rebel. And man thinks that he's okay. Let me read you Ephesians 2,
verses 1 to 3. Here again, whenever we read
Scripture, I'm telling you, remember who's speaking. These words were
penned by men, but these words were breathed by God. Ephesians
2, verses 1 to 3. The Apostle says, and you hath
he quicked, you hath he made alive, you hath he rebirthed,
you hath he brought out of darkness and death, who were dead in trespasses
and sins. Wherein in time past you walked,
just like the Apostle Paul, just like you, just like me. Wherein
time passed, ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, Satan himself,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation in time past. in
the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others, every one of us, were born hating God, wrathful against
God. As I said before, as far as any
of God's elect, those chosen in Christ, They've never been
under the wrath of God. Never. Never. They've everlastingly
been loved. Born dead in sins? Yes. Rebels
against God? Yes. Wrathful against God? Yes. Haters of God? Yes. But
under God's wrath? No. Why? Because Almighty God
had everlastingly chosen them to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. He always viewed them
in Christ. And the Father, who first trusted
in Christ before the foundation of the world, declared them,
we looked at this, sanctified them, declared them holy in Christ in time they were born. In time,
they fell. In time, they were rebels. But
in time, God's going to regenerate them and tell them what He's
done for them. And in time, they're going to
believe and they're going to see the mercy of Almighty God.
Here's the reason that you don't believe me. You are of your father, the devil. Taken captive by him and his
will. That's what 2 Timothy 2.26 says. Rebels against God. Like drunken
men in a stupor of error. Don't have sense enough to know
where they are. Dead. Dead. And they can only be set free
one way. Not by their free will. They
don't have a free will. I'll tell you this, man is born
with a will. He's born with a will. Not free,
but he's got a will. How do I know? The Scripture
says, and the lust of your father ye will do. A man born with a will, this
is what he wills to do. The lust of his father, the devil.
That's what I want to do. That's what a man wants to do
being born in Adam. You leave a man to himself in
the deadness of unbelief, and he will follow the inclination
and desires of Satan. How do you know that, Marvin?
God said it. Because God said it. The lust
of your father. The Lord continues in verse 44.
He was a murderer from the beginning. The beginning of what? From the
beginning of man's contact with him in the garden. His goal, that is, Satan's goal
and purpose was the murder of mankind. This was exhibited in the first
physical murder of Abel. And when Cain killed his brother
Abel, How do I know that it was of the devil? How do I know that
he was moving under the influence of Satan? 1 John 3.12 says this,
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother,
and wherefore slew he him, because his own works, Cain's, were evil. And he was of his father the
devil. And Abel, his brothers, righteous. Abel knew God. Cain didn't know God in mercy
and grace. And Cain, doing the will of his
father, the devil, killed his brother. Scripture says, continuing
in verse 44, and in bold, not in the truth, Satan was originally
created in a state of innocence, Jude 6 states that Satan and
all the angels that followed him in rebellion kept not their
first estate, their first place, but left their own habitation. Satan stood not in conformity
to the mind of God. Somebody would say, how did sin
enter in there? God allowed it. God allowed it. Do you think things were out
of control? Do you think somehow God couldn't control what was
going on in heaven itself? That place that God had created
for His people? For the habitation of Himself
with His people? Do you think God couldn't control
that? He allowed it. Why? Because He pleased to. And
I tell you this, there are some things God has revealed. There are some things that He
hasn't revealed. The things that He's revealed are for us and
for our children. And the things that He hasn't
revealed, He hasn't revealed. One day, Lord willing, we'll
know. But for now, we know that Almighty
God allowed it. He was not out of control. He
was not overpowered. He's Almighty God. And so Scripture
says, He doeth as He will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. No man questions Him. Verse 44, continuing, Because
there is no truth in Him when He speaketh of the lie, He speaketh
of His own, for He is the liar and the father of it. Satan failed
and there was nothing in Him but lies. And when He speaks,
He speaks only from within. Has God said that if you eat
of the fruit that you'll die? Eve said, yeah. That's what God
said. Satan said, you're not going
to die. You're not going to die. Listen to me. You that know him
not, Satan says to you, you don't have to believe this. You don't
have to trust Christ. You're fine. You're okay. You don't have to. Faith is not
only by grace. That's a lie. We are saved by
grace, through faith, and that not of ourselves. The gift of
God. Almighty God has sent forth that
every person that believes not the gospel of God's grace, the
gospel of free grace, the gospel of God, is under the influence
and direction of Satan himself. You can't hear my word. Verse
45, and because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. You have no ability of yourself.
You believe the truth never. You need a new heart. The truth
of God's grace is not within the capability for a man or a
woman to receive it of themselves. Person put in there. New man. You will not believe until God
gives you a new heart. You will not. People will say,
well, I tell you what, I believed and God saved me. No, He didn't.
The Scripture says, who have saved us and then called us. Saved us and called us. Not called
us and saved us. When you believe, God's already
given you life. He's already given you a new
heart. I may want to listen to an FM
radio, but if all I've got is an AM, it ain't going to happen. Why? I don't have the capability. I just don't have it. Scripture
says, I tell you the truth, and you believe me not, only by grace
Which of you, verse 46, convinces me of sin? And if I tell you
the truth, why do you not believe me? Our Lord just asked two questions. Which of you convinces me of
sin? Now let me tell you what he just said. I make a statement concerning
our Lord. And these are our Lord's words.
This is God's word. This is God's truth. This is
God speaking. Which of you can say or lay or
charge me with sin? Is there any basis for not believing
God? Is there any basis? Now, I know
that men will stand and not believe God. You can go anywhere. There's
hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of churches throughout this country
where you can go and find somebody that will lie on God. And it
will be all about man and all about man's ability and all about
God wanting to and God trying to and God wishes that. And it's all left up to you,
they say. He's done all he can do. Oh,
I'd hate to know that God had done all He could do and was
still waiting on me. I've told people this. Listen
to me. Any man, any woman that trusts in their own ability, realize something. Whatever you
did before and whatever you've done after, when you think, that
you were supposedly saved by your free will, it better have
been perfect before and since. There better not be one discretion. There better not be one point
in which you better have never thought anything inconsistent. Because if you think that you're
going to stand before God Accept it in your ability. And many
will. The Lord said that. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, if you think that you're
going to stand before God, it better have been perfect. And
I'll tell you who's going to make the decision of whether
or not it was. It's going to be God Himself. The books are
going to be open, Mitch. And the book. And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life himself is going to be
cast into hell. The lake of fire. Listen to me. Trusting in your free will. Trusting in your decision. Satan has lied to you. He's lied to you. Because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of
sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? Which
of you could charge me with sin? If you can't charge Christ with
sin, let me ask you this, why do you resist what He says? God
has set forth His report of His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ has
given the same report of Himself. What's the reason for not believing
God? Tell you what, it's because unless
God Almighty gives you a new heart, you hate him. You despise him. Verse 47, he that is of God,
heareth God's words. A regenerated man, a child of
God, he hears from the heart. The words of God. He hears them
with thankfulness. He hears them with appreciation.
He hears them with humility. God Almighty teaching me what
I am in myself. He hears them knowing that it
is by the grace of God that He hears and knows anything. And
He hears them knowing that unless Almighty God keeps me hearing,
Faith cometh. I told you before. You say, well,
I tell you what, I believe the Lord a long time ago and I've
just been, you know. Somehow we think that we've got
a reserve of faith. No. It's like I've said before,
you don't have a reserve of air. If God doesn't give me air, Pat,
right now, I'm gone. If God Almighty doesn't give
me a breath right now, you say, well, I've got to reserve enough
for tomorrow. No, you don't. This is how God's
people depend on Him. Faith cometh right now. Right
now. Right now. By hearing. Hearing
by the Word of God. I've got to hear this. I've got
to hear this. I must hear. He that is of God
heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not. Because
you're not of God. I'm telling you, a believer hears
those words, his two reactions, two things just happen. In this
congregation and any other place where God's preachers are preaching,
two things just happen. The Lord Jesus Christ said, you
therefore hear them not because you are not of God. Some were
so thankful and said, Lord, by your grace and by your mercy
that I am what I am. Thank you. Thank you that you
give me a heart. Thank you that you give me faith
to believe. And those that hear not God said,
so what? So what? This doesn't really
matter to me. One day it will. One day it will. Listen to me. I pray that God
Almighty have mercy on us. I pray that the Lord bless these
words to our hearts. Lord, speak to me. Lord, help
me. Lord, keep me. Lord, give me
faith today. You know, the amazing thing is
only a believer... Now, this is one that God has
promised, I'm never going to leave you, and I'm never going
to forsake you. Only a believer is one that strives
to enter in the straight gate. Only a believer is striving to
make his calling and election sure. A man without God is just
so presumptuous. He doesn't care. He doesn't matter
for a believer. He says it's Peter. When Peter
stepped out on that water, and he saw the water and began to
sink, he said, Lord, help me out. I'll perish or save me. for Christ's sake.