Waterwheel Or Rain

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereign grace?

The Bible reveals God's sovereign grace as His unmerited favor towards sinners, manifested through Christ's work. God's sovereign grace is a central theme in Scripture, particularly emphasized in passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9, where it states that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of works. This unmerited favor is not based on human effort or righteousness, but solely on God's mercy and His desire to save His people. In Romans 9:30-32, the distinction is made that the Gentiles obtained righteousness by faith, while Israel sought it through the law but did not attain it because they stumbled over the stumbling stone, Christ. Thus, God’s grace is demonstrated in how He chooses to extend salvation, showing that it is not about human works but about God's sovereign will.

Q: How do we know regeneration is necessary for salvation?

Regeneration is essential for salvation as it is the work of the Holy Spirit that transforms a sinner's heart. Regeneration, or the new birth, is vital for salvation because it is through this transformative work of the Holy Spirit that an individual is made alive to God. John 3:3 emphasizes the necessity of being 'born again' to see the kingdom of God. Likewise, Titus 3:5 states that we are saved 'not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy' through regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This divine act creates a new heart capable of understanding and responding to the gospel, illustrating our complete dependence on God for salvation. Without regeneration, a person remains in their fallen state, unable to achieve righteousness on their own.

Q: Why is the distinction between faith and works important for Christians?

The distinction is critical as Christians are justified by faith apart from works, ensuring humility and reliance on God's grace. Understanding the difference between faith and works is foundational for the Christian faith, as it reveals the nature of justification and our relationship with God. Galatians 2:16 clarifies that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. This means that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace, and our good works are not the means to achieve divine acceptance but rather the result of a transformed life in Christ. This distinction fosters humility among believers, reminding them that their salvation is a gift and not something they can earn or boast about, aligning with Ephesians 2:9 which states, 'not of works, lest any man should boast.' Consequently, it encourages believers to rely solely on the righteousness of Christ rather than their own efforts.

Q: What does Deuteronomy teach about God's provision for His people?

Deuteronomy illustrates God's provision through the contrast between Egypt's toil and the grace-filled blessings of the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 11:10-11, the land of Egypt is compared to the Promised Land, emphasizing the contrast between human effort and divine provision. In Egypt, the Israelites toiled tirelessly, watering their gardens with their feet, symbolizing the labor and obligation of attempting to earn God's favor through works. Conversely, in the Promised Land, the blessings are depicted as freely given, 'for it drinketh water of the rain of heaven,' illustrating how God supplies the needs of His people without the burden of their labor. This picture serves as a profound allegory for spiritual life, wherein believers are called out of the slavery of works-based righteousness into the freedom of grace, where God provides everything through Christ and His redemptive work.

It's a privilege to be here. Nancy and I are so delighted
to be with you. We're about 3,000 miles away
from where the Lord has planted us, placed us. But it's good
to be here. And I just bring greetings from
a sister church. Last year when we came by here
after a visit up in Washington, D.C., we just found a bunch of
brothers and sisters we just never met before. And it was
a pleasure to be with you then, and it's a great pleasure to
be with you now. We had such a good time this
last June with your pastor. He brought five or six outstanding
messages from God's Word, and our people were blessed. And
they've already said, when is he coming back? So he and I have
been talking, and we look forward to the time your pastor can go
over the Mississippi again. Now, I want to be I'm thankful
that you have insisted that your pastor pay his phone bill. I'm just thankful because since
he's paid his phone bill and you've insisted that he do that,
he calls me once in a while. Now I have two good friends on
this side of the Mississippi that call every once in a while
and I have the privilege of talking to them. One of them is down
in in North Carolina. And one is right here. And he
calls and we enjoy each other's fellowship over the phone. Many,
many miles away. And I appreciate that so much. I love your pastor. We've known
each other about 11 years. And this last year, I've just
grown to love him. The Lord gives us so many good
friends. Really good friends. And then
he sends us some blessed friends. down home, down to the heart,
blessed friends. And that's how I feel about your
pastor. Now what a delight to be here. It was in special services,
and that's one thing I really appreciate. This is no small
thing. It's no small thing to have special services. I was
blessed in special services much like this 26 years ago. when
a man from Kentucky came out to Oregon in special services
and I heard the gospel for the first time in my life. That man
preached Christ. And that's the first time in
my life I ever heard the message of God's free and sovereign grace
in Christ Jesus. And I told my wife, I hate that
man. I'm thankful after a season of time, He regenerated me, opened
my heart, gave me peace with Christ. And I could call that
man up, Brother Mahan, and say, I know what you're talking about
now. And it is my delight, my privilege,
and a serious business topic tonight. It's not business. I
shouldn't say that. But I'd like to look, if you
would with me, to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 11, and
hopefully My prayer that the Lord will make it worth our time. I enjoy going to good art museums. Now, some people's idea of art
and my idea of art are two different things. I don't care for modern
art at all. I see no reason for it and some
people do. I like to see a painting. of
something that was real or is real. It's a representation of
that. It's a picture, a painting of
something that is somewhere or somebody that is somewhere. I
enjoyed seeing pictures or paintings of the men and women that were
early Americans that led our country to begin with and see
them. I read about them. I heard about
them. But here's a Here is an artist's rendition of the period
of General Washington. We saw that in Washington, D.C.
Paintings of some of the early presidents and men who cared
about where our country was headed. I didn't meet those people, but
here's a representation of them. To go into an art museum or an
art gallery or a museum is interesting because we are privileged to
do that. Well, I find in the Old Testament that there are
many wonderful pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ and his great
work of grace on behalf of his people. Now, as we heard read
there in the book of Hebrews, and we're going to read one of
those verses later, we find that it's a shadow. Many of the things
in the Old Testament are a shadow. I want the reality. Now, do you
have Denny's around here? Denny's restaurants? They're
kind of like cracker barrels. And Denny's restaurant out in
the west has a menu and they've made the food, taken a picture
of it, and put it in their menu. And it's attractive. My goodness,
you open that menu up and here's prawns or steak or strawberry
shortcake, and they've taken real pictures and put them in
there so that you get to see what you hopefully get to order.
And I have never seen anyone in my life take that menu and
begin to eat it. Now, the pictures look good,
but there's no satisfaction in eating the menu. Now, all of
these types and shadows and pictures in the Old Testament, as Brother
Marvin read about there, those pictures of the sacrifices They
are menue, but the reality is Christ. They speak of Christ. They speak of the great grace
of God. They share with us the wonderful
blessings that we have been given in the sovereign God who rules
and reigns this earth as it seems pleasing to Him. Now, there's
types and shadows and pictures there, but the Lord opened my
heart to the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, and now I have
a relationship with Him that He created within me. I like
what Donny Mills told me one time, you've been given a new
creation that never was around before. God created something
in you. A new creation, a new creature
in Christ Jesus. Now, in the book of Deuteronomy
chapter 11, we have a picture that speaks of what God does
for his people. But so often before what we find
God does for his people, he shares with us what we are by nature.
I like what Brother Mahan shared in his messages. He says, I always
try to preach the three R's ruined by the fall. Redeemed by Christ. regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Now the Bible is filled with illustrations and statements
about our ruin in the fall and our absolute necessity of God
Almighty regenerating us before we'll ever be able to be privileged
to be in His presence and not fear. We are privileged to come
into his presence without fear after he has regenerated us.
In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 11, there is an illustration
of this. The Old Testament brooms with
these illustrations, and here is one. The comparison of man's
attempt to please God by his own works and God's way that
he shares with us so often in scripture that we find the only
way of peace, the only way of blessing. Deuteronomy chapter
11, and I would like to read verses 10 and 11. For the land
whether thou goest in to possess it. Now Moses is speaking about
what God is going to give national Israel when they enter into the
promised land. But it is compared to what they
had in Egypt in bondage. We have very little argument
after the Lord has saved us that Egypt and the bondage that Israel
had in Egypt is pictorial or symbolic of the bondage that
we have in Adam and in our sin and in our very nature. And it
takes an act of God just like he did with Israel in the Old
Testament. He had to shed blood and he brought
them out the Passover and brought them out and brought them into
the promised land. God had to work that work. It was not on the effort of the
people. Now he says here, for the land
whither thou goest into possess it is not as the land of Egypt. Please take this comparison Moses
is sharing. For in the land of Egypt you
are required to do something and in the land of Israel, in
the promised land, I will take care of it for you. Now he's
comparing, he's sharing, he's giving us a picture, a type,
an example of what it is when we are in Adam and in our sin
what we do by nature with an attempt to appease God or please
God with our own works. And that's what we do by nature.
That's what I was doing when God sent somebody along who knew
something about this book and knew something about the gospel
and preached it in simplicity and in truth and didn't stop. He continued to go. He was not
afraid of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says here, It
is not as the land of Egypt, whence ye came out, where ye
sowed thy seed, and waterest it with thy foot as a garden
of herbs. But the land whither ye go to
possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water
of the rain of heaven. Now there is so much difference
between verse 10 and verse 11 about what was required of Israel
in the land of Egypt and what God was going to give them in
the land of promise. In the land of Egypt it says
here that they were required, if they were going to have food,
if they were going to have a garden, that they were going to have
to plant their seed or plant their plants and they were dependent
It was a necessity, if they were going to be successful there,
that they had to water it, and it uses the term here, with thy
foot. Now, I'm glad, and your pastor
came out and shared this with our people, and I knew about
it, but he just brought it out to the open, you know, how important
it is for preachers to share what the word means, and what
the words mean. Because sometimes we're a step
back a ways from when these words were originally laid down and
it's important, it's valuable for us to go and find out somebody
that spent their time looking at these words and bringing them
to us so that we can say, oh, that's what that means. Well,
waters with thy foot. When I first read that I said,
what does my foot have to do with watering? But you look that
word up and it has to do with carrying water by your feet,
not a horse cart, not a wheelbarrow, but carrying water, buckets of
water, over your shoulders, by foot, or it means to use a water
wheel. Now, I've seen pictures in National
Geographic many years ago, when I grew up with my grandmother,
of those countries over there where there's very, very little
rain, and if they wanted a crop, they had this water wheel and
there was jars. hooked to this water wheel that
dipped down in water, came up and dropped it into a trough,
and there was someone on there consistently turning that water
wheel. And if they were going to have
a crop, they couldn't stop, or they had to trade off. Well,
the Lord is telling us here that down in Egypt it was required
of you, and you were into it, to work, to work, to work, to
work, to work and it was done by your feet and in fact as we
go on we find out that these water wheels and this place of
no rain it was a great deal of labor was exerted by the gardener
in Egypt to water his garden and the gardener was required
to bestow much cost and pain to his crop. But while in Egypt
the children of Israel were ditching and wheeling water, they were
up to their knees in mud to bring water to their garden. Now that
brought me to a verse that just triggered my mind. It's Psalm
40, verse 2. In the horrible pit, in the miry
clay, working our fool heads off. The Bible is filled with, by
nature, what we do. It promotes. We try to promote
religion. We try to promote it with God.
And I don't know about you here, but I was, and out in Oregon
we have people that are very religious, and they want us,
me, to know about it. Now, I was that way. Very religious,
and I wanted people to know how religious. All I'm saying is,
I spent 48 hours in a row on the walk wheel. Whoa. And people, oh my. You know,
religious people love to pat religious people on the back
and tell them how much water they've wheeled, how much water
they've carried, how much water they've dumped, how much water
they've put on the garden. And we all pat our backs over
such things. And yet we find out that this
activity that we have performed from our earliest year to down.
I was 35 years old before I ever heard the gospel. All of that
time that I had spent in religion and performing religious rites
and doing religious things and saying religious things, performing
weddings and doing baptismal services and funerals and everything
that goes with it, and saying these things will count dearly
with God, I will surely be on the good side. to find out that
they meant nothing to God. Now, when he converts us, when
he regenerates us, he shares with us the great blessings of
entering into Christ. I'll get there in just a moment,
but would you turn with me to the book of Romans, chapter 9.
Romans, chapter 9. There is one thing about this
labor and doing this work. gives us a little bit of thought
how great we are as we water the garden. Now, I don't know
whether you have to water a garden here or not, but in the Dalles,
Oregon, we're in the rain shadow of Mount Hood. Mount Hood is
our tallest mountain. We can see it at any time out
there. It's over 11,000 feet, and they call it the rain shadow
of Mount Hood. Storms come across from the ocean,
Pacific Ocean, go one-third of the state, run into the Cascade
Mountains, which run north and south, come up there, and they're
caught, and sometimes they're sent back where they dump their
rain before they get to us, and we get about 14 inches of moisture
a year. And Nancy and I were just down
at St. Croix, where Moose Parks is, and we got that much in a
day. Fourteen inches a year. So I'm required, if I'm going
to raise a garden, I have to water. Well, you know what that
does for me? I've got people who say, what?
Whoa, that's a wonderful tomato, Norm. Look, it came out of your
garden. Well, we got this idea that, yeah, wow, this is great. I raised the tomato. Well, when
the children of Israel went into the promised land, God didn't
have them build trenches to water with, and He didn't have them
water by foot. You know what He did? He sent
the rain. We're going to brag on God then.
That's the big change. All right. Turn with me if you
go to the book of Romans chapter 9 before we get ahead there.
Romans chapter 9 in verse 30. It shares with us these words
Romans chapter 9 verse 30. The scriptures share. What shall
we say then that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness
have attained a righteousness even the righteousness which
is a faith but Israel which followed after the law of righteousness
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore,
because they sought it not by faith, but as it were of the
works of the law. They didn't gain righteousness
because they sought it by the works of the law. They were working
every day. They were trying to serve God
every day, and they did not seek it after faith but they sought
it after the works of the law. They sought to do it as they've
been doing it down in Egypt. They left Egypt went over into
Israel and continue to do their water wheels. They continue to
carry their own water. And God said my people when they
enter into the promised land I'm going to send rain. Who sends
the rain here and how much control do you have over those clouds.
We have no control over the clouds, and it is God that sends the
rain. So when it comes to God's special grace, when it comes
to God's work of grace, we do not promote it, but he gives
it to us. It is of his good pleasure that
he blesses us with his blessings. It's not something that we promote
in ourselves or an activity that we perform to gain it. It is
because he chooses to send his people his blessings and he calls
it the reign of heaven. Turn with me again if you went
to the book of Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2 shares
these words with regard to what we do by our natural man. This is what we do. This is the
normal thing to do. I used to really have problems
with people doing the normal thing. When the Lord saved me,
I realized what it is to be an Adam. And people, I did. I was doing all of this and it
couldn't be corrected. No preacher could correct it. No
Sunday school teacher could correct it. I couldn't correct it. I
was unable to correct the path that I was on by myself. That
preacher that came with the gospel, he preached the truth and he
preached the gospel, but he was not able to correct the path
that I was on. Thank God he realized that. That he preached the gospel and
he left the rest up to God. I had been in a group where they
went through the form of preaching the gospel, and then they tried
to get movement out of people. You know, that's unsuccessful. That's like going down to the
water wheel and trying to promote yourself. All right, Galatians
chapter 2 and verse 16. The scripture says, knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ. It is God's faith. It's the Lord's
faith that we're justified. It's not our faith even. Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law. Now, God
told Israel through Moses, the preacher, he says, this place
I'm taking you is not like Egypt. In Egypt, you had to water with
your feet. When I take you into this place,
I will send you rain. Turn with me, if you would, to
the book of Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 9. Ephesians chapter
2 and verse 9. The Lord shares with us here. We know what verse 8 is, but
4 says verse 9, Not of works, lest any man should boast. No doubt it was the idea and
attitude of those Jews down in Egypt when they had a good crop
to say, look what I've done. And usually I can imagine them
saying if they had a bad crop, God didn't bless us. Now, turn with me to Titus chapter
3 and verse 5. As we think about these very
things God shared with Israel when they were coming out of
the promised land. I'm taking you from one place
and I'm putting you in a place where I'm sending rain. Notice
it's Titus chapter 3 and verse 5. The Lord through the Apostle
Paul shares this. He wrote it to Titus. I'm glad
we get to peek in on his mail. We have his mail for Titus. The book of Titus, a little letter
here. Chapter 3 and verse 5, not by works of righteousness
which we have done. This is over and over throughout
the Scriptures. We have this. It's not like down
in Egypt. I will not take it like it was
down in Egypt. You're in servitude. You're in
slavery in Egypt. And when God created Adam and
Adam fell and represented the entire human race, you and I,
everybody. I like what the preacher said.
He was talking about the total depravity of man And he had to
explain that a little bit. He said, that means everybody,
man, woman, boy and girl, is depraved before God. And the
lady caught him at the end of the service and said, you know,
I've never doubted the depravity of man, but you put it right
down to women, too, didn't you? The total depravity. Adam fell,
represented the entire human race, and put us in slavery. That's what redemption talks
to us about. You can't be redeemed unless
you're in slavery. The Redeemer redeems his people
out of sin slavery. He brings them out of servitude. He brings them out of Egypt.
He brings them out of the work. He brings them out of their own
selves. This is what it is to have God
Almighty come upon his people. It's going on there in Titus
chapter 3 and verse 5, not by works of righteousness which
we have done. And I don't know how many times
I've had people tell me, I understand that, but I'm the exception.
There is no exceptions. This is one of those rules that
there is no exceptions to. There is nobody that is outside
of this rule, not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost. This is an activity
of God. This new birth is an activity
of an almighty God. It takes the same power that
it took him to create the heavens and the earth for him to create
new life in a lost, hell-bound individual standing before him,
and he causes them to stand still so he can create the life. And
they quit saying, it's by my works of righteousness. And they
realize, we realize, it's by His work and His work alone. It is His work. In 2 Samuel chapter
9, we read the story, the account, the truth of a man by the name
of Mephibosheth. Now, Mephibosheth was in Lodibar. Lodibar means place of no pasture. That's a dry place. No water. Dry place. Now, he's also broken
in the feet. His nurse dropped him. He fell. But you know what? King David
said fetch him. He's over in Lodibar. We're over
here enjoying the reign of heaven. He's over there in Lodibar, a
place of no pasture. They can't even graze their animals
over there because there's nothing for them to eat. It hasn't rained
over there. But go fetch him and bring him
over here. They went and fetched him. What
a blessing. The Holy Spirit goes after us. in our place of Lodibar down
in Egypt where we're stuck in all our works and brings us out
of there with his great glory and brings us to the king. And
you know what we say? Thank you, Lord. After he opens
our heart, gives us the heart of God, creates new life in us,
there is thanksgiving in our heart that he's brought us out
of Lodibar and brought us to the place of rain. Now, in Deuteronomy
11, verse 11, I want to read that again. As we look at this
side, the Lord promised them something. This land you're going
to, where I'm going to put you, it's not like Egypt. Now, it's
sad that in religion, people get people saved and they put
them back in Egypt. They put them back under the
water wheel. Put them back under works. Put them back under this. And
I was taught you had progressive sanctification. That the more
you did, the better off you were with God. Thank God Almighty
that He opens our heart and causes us to understand that all our
sanctification is in Christ. That all our holiness is in Christ. That all our hope is in Christ.
that He takes us out of that place we were born into and brings
us unto Him. Now, Deuteronomy 11, verse 11,
But the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills
and valleys. Now, I looked at that and I said,
you know, this life the Lord gave us. There's ups and downs. Ups and downs. Hills and valleys.
But, notice this, and drinketh the water of the reign of heaven. Charles Spurgeon said for every
person, every person he had ever heard of that left the gospel
over tough times, he knew ten that had left over good times.
Oh, things are going great. You know, it's just a sign they
never got out of Egypt. It's a sign they never quit working. Here he said, The land whither
thou goest, it is the land of hills and valleys, and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven. Who sends the rain? Today I heard
something and went out and it is just whoosh, rain. Man, it was raining. Now, we
get that on Western Oregon many times. The rain of heaven. It
comes from God. It is controlled by God. And
it is sent by God. We have no control over the rain
clouds. Now, we pray for them. We pray
for rain sometimes. Sometimes we pray, Lord, would
you hold back just a little bit? But we have no control over the
rain. When the children of Israel entered
into the Promised Land, God sent the rain. He was the one, and
He told them that He would be the one to send the rain. He's
the one that brought the blessings. The Lord is giving us another
illustration. The Lord will water the garden.
He must do the work far beyond our exercise of carrying water.
He must give us a new heart. That's what he tells us in the
book of Ezekiel. I'll give you a new heart. I used to read that
as what in the world is he talking about? I was kind of like Nicodemus
says, how can these things be? And then when the Lord gives
you that new heart and you recognize him as the Lord God Almighty,
we understand what it is to get a new heart. Now, when we get
a new heart, the Bible tells us Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. There's a new creation in Christ
Jesus, old things. Now, not all things pass away,
but all things become new. We have been given a new view
of God. We've been given a new view of
Christ. We never had it before. We couldn't comprehend it before.
We never understood what sin was before. Oh, yeah, I stole
cookies out of my mother's cookie jar, or I've done some terrible,
terrible, terrible things. We always say it's things that
we did, but once the Lord saves us, we realize it's here. We
are the problem. We sin because it's here in our
heart. We got it from Adam, but we do
it on our own, too. And God said, I will make you
a new creation in Christ Jesus. All things are passed away. Behold,
all things become new. And now I have a new glimpse
of what it is to be a sinner. But I also know what it is to
have Jesus Christ as God. I never had that before. I knew
about him, but I did not know him. I have a new view of heaven. I have a new view about this
book. The Old Testament was history. There's a little gospel. And
then we had lots of religion. This is the book of Christ. I
have a new view of this book. He gave me a new view about this
book. It is my delight to go reading in the Old Testament
and find those pictures of my Savior and how he illustrates
what he does with sinners, how he saves them with his glory
and with his great sovereignty. We have a rebellion of dry bones
in the Old Testament. What an illustration. A preacher
goes out there into the valley of dry bones, and I have been
places where there have been huge piles of dry bones. Now,
they haven't been human. They've been critters. And I
think as I go out there, this, God asks this man, can these
dry bones live? And that man said, thou knowest.
I don't know. To me, it's an impossibility.
There's no way in this world. We came off of the plane there
in Pittsburgh, came down several escalators, and here is a dinosaur
put together. It looked like it may have had
life at one time, but there's no breath in it. It's just a
pile of bones some scientist put together. There's no life
in it. That's the way we are by nature.
We have the appearance of life. We have animation. We take in
oxygen. We push out the refuse. And here we are, going through
life, and God said, can these dry bones live? And Ezekiel said,
thou knowest. And he said, prophesy to them.
Preach. You know what he preached? God's
freedom, sovereign grace. It's the only thing that will
save people. He preached. Oh, there's a rattling. There's
a rattling. The bones come together, sinew
and muscle. And then God said, can they rise? The Holy Spirit came and breathed
on them and they rose an exceeding great army. This is what God
does for His people. He gives them life. We're just
going through life with some animation, but we have no spiritual
life. We lost it in Adam. And then
it tells us in Ephesians chapter 2, again in verse 8, For by grace
are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It's
a gift of God. I've taken you out of Egypt where
you had to work your full head off, and I've brought you into
the land where I will rain blessings upon you. I will give you the
peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You will know a
Redeemer, and His name is Jesus. I will lift you out of the horrible
pit and put you on the solid rock. I will do all of these
things, and you know what we do? Nothing. He lifts us. He raises us. He
moves us. He animates us. But we have no
ability in ourself, even after we're saved, to do a spiritual
thing. It must come from God. I don't
know about you, but sometimes my wife and I like to stand out
and see that full moon rise. And it's coming up there and
coming up there. We turn to each other and give
each other a smooch. It's just kind of romantic, you
know. That full moon rising, bright, full moon rising, bright.
But did you know it has no light in itself? It must have light
given to it in order to reflect it. The moon has no light in
itself. We have no light in ourself.
We're just reflecting the glory of God. We're just reflecting
God's purpose of grace. And then turn with me, if you
will, to the book of Hosea, Hosea chapter 6. In the book of Hosea
chapter 6, as the Lord once again shares with us the great promises
of his spiritual blessing. We have every spiritual blessing
in Christ Jesus. Nothing in our works, nothing
in any of the things that God gives us to do. There's only
spiritual blessings in Christ. Now, we are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. We don't work trying to get something.
We work because we've been given something. We don't work because
we're trying to get salvation. If that's your purpose, then
you don't know Christ. But we work because he's given
us something and he's the king and we adore him. We serve him. We attempt to serve him. God
give us grace to serve him. Hosea. This wonderful book of
Hosea, chapter 6, verse 1. Come, and let us return unto
the Lord, for He hath torn, and He will heal us. Now, I know
what it is to be torn. Man, He tore me. When the Word came upon Him,
He tore me. He tore me away from my religion. He tore me away
from myself. He tore me. I was going through
the book of Revelation, talked about that great tribulation. I don't think I've had any greater
tribulation in my life than when the Lord showed me that what
I was doing was not going to be any good. That was my greatest
tribulation. Oh my, what shall I do? And then
He showed me Christ. Come and let us return unto the
Lord, for He hath torn, and He will heal us. He hath smitten,
and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive
us. And in the third day He will
raise us up. Now there's some interesting
words. I need to know more about that. In the third day He'll
raise us up. I was raised in Christ. That's
glory to be raised in Christ. I was buried with Him, rose with
Him, sitting at the right hand of the Father in Him. It goes
on to tell us here though, and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know, if we follow
on to know the Lord, his going forth is prepared as the morning,
and he shall come unto us, he shall come unto us, he shall
come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain and the former
rain unto the earth. Now he uses these terms several
times in the Old Testament, the latter rain and the former rain.
That means the last rain of the season and the first rain of
the season. Over we find in the book of Revelation, I am the
Alpha and Omega. I am the beginning and the ending. When it comes to rain, when it
comes to Christ, when it comes to his glory, when it comes to
his blessings, he says, I'm the beginning rain and I'm the ending
rain. Nobody blesses you but God. Nobody blesses his church but
Christ. I am the rain, and I am the beginning
rain, and I am the ending rain. I am the ending rain, and I am
the beginning rain. Don't trust anything else but the rain. When you enter the promised land,
you'll enter a land with hills and valleys, but I'm going to
send the rain. No longer will you be hooked
up to a water wheel. No longer. Will you be carrying
your own water? No longer will you be trying
to water your garden alone. Now, I know there's boasting
in that, but we boast in Christ. I love what he said from the
cross. It is finished. Redemption is
complete and no man shall add to this. If you do, I think that's
what he's talking about there in the book of Revelation. Don't
add to this and don't take away from this. The Word. The Word
is really exhibited on the cross. So he says there in Hosea chapter
6 and verse 3 again, he says, And he shall come unto us as
the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Now, I can
only say what that man said to me in those special services
many years ago. I wonder, what do you do now?
He said, trust Christ and don't move a muscle. Now all the time
before I was told to move a muscle. That's what religion tells us
to do. Move your muscles. Come forward. Move your muscles.
Pray. Move your muscles. Do this. Trust Christ and don't
move a muscle. I will take you from Egypt and
I will put you in the rain. furthermore.

Waterwheel Or Rain

What does the Bible say about God's sovereign grace?

How do we know regeneration is necessary for salvation?

Why is the distinction between faith and works important for Christians?

What does Deuteronomy teach about God's provision for His people?

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Waterwheel Or Rain

What does the Bible say about God's sovereign grace?

How do we know regeneration is necessary for salvation?

Why is the distinction between faith and works important for Christians?

What does Deuteronomy teach about God's provision for His people?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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