In our last study of this book,
Paul was writing a letter to the church at Rome. Not one there anymore. It used
to be there. The Lord raised up a candlestick
for a little while in that city. He had some people there who
taught him some things. He removed it. As far as I know, Mark does not
want that anymore. In verse 10 of this book, Paul
taught believers something, their attitude toward each other, be
kindly affection, brotherly love, in honor, preferring one another. In the 11th verse, he taught
them something about their attitude toward the ministry, not slothful
in business. fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord. Twelveth verse, their attitude
toward worship, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,
continuing instant in prayer. And thirteenth verse, the evidence
of discipleship, distributing to the necessity of saints, giving
to hospitality. We'll just make those statements,
not going over everything we said last time. today in the
14th verse. Let's, Lord willing, try to just
finish this chapter right here. Scripture says, verse 14, Bless
them which persecute you. Bless and curse not. Speak well. And be thankful for. Bless them
that persecute you. Those that are pursuing you for
evil. Why? For what you believe. Now, if you're let me let me
say this, the scripture sets forth. I have to look it up. I just came to my mind. I don't
have it. The scripture says this. If you're doing something that's
worthy of it's bad, it's offensive, it's it's not right. It's not right. You just. You're just mean, you're just,
you're doing something, it's unlawful and you're reprimanded
for what you do. Then we just got what we deserved. I mean, you know, people say,
well, I, you know, they caught me and they, you know, they fined
me, they, whatever. Well, you broke the law. I mean, you know, right is right,
but if you're reprimanded and Resented for doing what's right. Paul asked a group of people.
He said, Are you mad at me because I told you the truth? Is that
why you're mad? Bless them that persecute you. Bless and curse not. That is,
don't ask for doom on them. They don't believe me. Pray God send them to hell. You
don't do that. Pray the Lord have mercy. Two
thoughts, though, concerning this. Number one, bless them
that persecute you. According to this flesh, probably
one of the hardest things that you can do. Now, I know no one in here is
like this, but let me tell you how I am in my flesh. If you're mean to me, I'm mad
at you. I just, you know, as anybody that wouldn't admit that
in their flesh, if somebody is they talk about, you know, even
what you believe, I mean, slander and just, you know, in our flesh,
I'm just mad. I mean, you know, that's just
that's that's my flesh. But. To know that I can be. That I
can ask the blessing of God on those that are persecuting me
is only by the grace of God. Because according to Matthew
5.44, that's the one when the Lord says, Love your enemies.
Remember, they are the servant of God. We read that scripture
when that Shimei came out and started throwing rocks at David.
Started cussing him. Told him he was a bloody man.
Threw rocks at the king, you know. One of David's mighty men
said, I'll take his head off. You give me the word and I'm
telling you he's a dead man. David said, no, leave him alone.
The Lord sent him. The Lord sent him. I need to
be brought down. God sent him. Well, that takes
grace of God to do that. Bless them that persecute you,
bless and curse not. Verse 15, Rejoice with them that
do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. You know, let me tell
you something else about myself. And I think that you'll be like
this too. This world, this flesh, and we're all in this boat together
when it comes to this flesh. Paul said, In me, that is in
my flesh. There dwells no good thing. So
I know that all of us, every believer has got a nature that's
flesh, that's carnal. And you know what I rejoice in?
Temporal things. I like temporal things. I like prosperity, and I like
stuff, and I like things that make me comfortable. That's what
I rejoice in. This world rejoices. This is
going to make me happy. If I go get me a, I'm going to
be happy. New cars don't smell good long.
The notes stink. I mean, it's just that we're
like that. We're just like that. We rejoice
in them. Not saying we don't have to have
them. I know we have, but according to this world, I think If I can
get me something else, I'll be happier. And he just never does. He just didn't make me happy. But the believer rejoices. He's full of cheer in those things
that are not yet fully revealed. Paul said in Philippians 3, 1,
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. There is an anxious
anticipation. A believer just, he can sit there
and he listens, he hears the gospel of free grace and he rejoices
in it. He thinks to himself, soon I'll
see him by sight, no more by faith. He thinks on those things. He rejoices in the Lord. What
is it to rejoice? That's what Paul said. Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. What is that? Well, I can tell
you this. We rejoice that the Father chose
a people unto salvation. You know, we can't get around
the fact that salvation is of the Lord. Romans 11, 5. Listen to this. Let me read this
to you. At this present time, also, there is a remnant. And you know, we've talked about
this. You ladies, it's so remnant.
Sometimes you got a nice big piece. I'm talking about now
those little bitty threads of stuff that's just thought it's
just just trashy stuff, a little remnant. It just it just got
an odd shape to it. You just. You got a few of these
and a few of these and a few of these. You just got some remnants.
You bought enough material to make a dress. You didn't buy,
you didn't go out and say, give me 70 yards of this stuff. How
much it's going to take. I remember when my mama would
go and buy, she'd get a pattern and she'd go and, you know, and
it would say something like, you know, one and seven eighths
yards. She'd get two. She'd buy one
and seven eighths. One and whatever it took. And
when she got done with it, I'm telling you, you just, just a
handful of, what was it? It's remnants. It's remnants. Just what I would consider, just
try it. Just throw it in the fire. Get
it over with. Be done with it. Even so, at this present time,
there's a remnant according to the election of grace. but rejoicing in the Lord." Listen
to this, Isaiah 1-9, "...except the Lord of hosts had left unto
us a very small remnant." That is, preserved alive. Unless the
Lord had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have
been as Sodom, and we would have been like unto Gomorrah. Unless
the Lord... You want to talk about rejoicing
in the Lord. This is the greatest thought
that a man could ever realize. God did not leave us to ourself. Leave a man to himself. Leave
men to themselves to do whatever they decide to do. And you know
what they're going to do every time? They'll resist God. Every time. How do you know that,
Marvin? Because the Lord said in Genesis, He said, And God
saw That every thought of the imagination of man was evil. Evil. Evil. Continuously. Every thought. You mean to tell
me there wasn't one thought in there that was good? Not one.
There's none that doeth good. Not one. Well, how about those
that will seek the Lord? There's none that seeks the Lord. This is a reason to rejoice that
the Lord chose a people, that God said, I will not let mankind
perish. God so loved the world, the order
of man, that He wasn't going to let them all perish. Let me
tell you another reason to rejoice. Rejoice that the Lord Jesus Christ
laid down His life. for the sheep. Turn over to John.
I want you to read this. You know, sometimes I'll read
these passages of Scripture, but let's let's just let's look
at something here. I want you to read. This is this
is the Word of God. John 10, John Chapter 10. Here's the reason that we have.
To rejoice, John 10, 15. Now, here's the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking, and he says, as the father knoweth me, Even so, no,
I the father. What did he just say? Does that
does that just mean that the Lord just kind of clued us in
that he knew he happened to know the father and that the Lord,
you know, in case they didn't know that he was acquainted with?
Was that what he said? No, here's what he said. As the
father knoweth me, what he was saying is everything that I have
been sent to do as the Messiah. as the chosen servant, everything
that God Almighty has sent me to do. The Father knoweth me,
is what he said, and I know the Father. I know what God purposed. I know what God chose. I know
His will. I know His determination. I know
His glory. I know His thoughts. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father. And this is what he said, And
I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice. I love it emphatic. There shall
be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No
man taketh from me. I lay it down on myself. I have
power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received from my Father. My Father sent
me." Now, he just told them something, just what he said. He said, I
lay down my life for the sheep. Now, who are the sheep? I'll
tell you who the sheep are. The Scripture says, all that
the Father gives me. They're my sheep. all that the
Father gave me. I lay down my life for Him."
Now, that truth, here's what he said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. And it made some of them mad.
You say, how do you know it made them mad? Well, because he said,
verse 19, there was a division therefore, again among the Jews,
for these saiyans. It made them mad. And many of
them said, he's got a devil. You're straight out of hell. You're out of the pits of hell,
you say. He's mad. Why hear you him? Others says, these are not the
words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of
the blind? And it was at Jerusalem, the
Feast of the Dedication, it was winter. And Jesus walked in the
temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about
him. I got to thinking about what he said. He told me, he
said, I lay down my life for the sheep. He distinguished in
that statement that he was going to do something for a certain
group. Because he told them, he said, my sheep, every one
of my sheep. He said, I got them, they're
mine in eternal election. And he said in verse 16, I must
bring them. It's imperative that I bring
them. They shall hear, verse 16, my voice. There shall be
one shepherd. My Father has entrusted me with
their care. There is no possible way that
I'm going to let them perish. None. Why? My Father chose them
and He gave them to me for me to lose One is for me to cast
a dispersion on His Word, His will, His purpose. For me to lose one of my Father's
sheep. They're my sheep, His sheep,
our sheep. If I lose one of them, our glory is at stake. It ain't going to happen. All that my
Father gives me." That's John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. Shall. I'm not going to lose
one of them. It made them mad. And they were
walking. And then verse 24, Then came
the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost
thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered, I told you. I told you. And you believe not. The works
that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But
ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto
you. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand. I and My Father are one, and
that made a matter." And verse 31 says, and they picked up some
stones again to stone Him. This is what He said, My Father
gave Me a people in eternal election. They are My sheep. For a while there, it may be
lost sheep, but they're sheep. But He said, I'm going to call
them out of darkness. And they're going to come. They're
going to come. Who's going to be saved? All
that the Father gave the Son in eternal election. They're sheep. The Lord said,
I lay down My life for them. And they asked Him, they said,
Why are you talking in riddles like this? Why don't you quit
beating around the bush? Why don't you tell us plainly? Why don't you quit all this mumbo-jumbo
stuff?" He said, I told you and you don't believe me because
you're not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. And buddy,
that was all it took. They wanted to kill him. This
is what they said, Don't you dare say that we're not of God. Don't you dare say that God has
a right to do whatever He wants to do. Don't you dare say that. The Scripture says back in Romans,
Rejoice with them that do rejoice. that Almighty God chose a people. Thank you. Lord, if you wouldn't
have chosen a people, if you wouldn't have had and elect a
remnant, this is what the Scripture says. Isaiah said this, Lord,
if you wouldn't have chosen a people, every one of us would have perished. I think when men hate the gospel
of free grace, they hate election, they hate That God, Gary, chose
a people. You know what the alternative
is? Everybody go to hell, Brother Scott. That's the alternative. That God chose a people that
He said is affection of one and left another one to Himself.
And so I don't like that. Leave them to themselves and
they'll all go to hell. That's the alternative. Thank
God that God chose a people that He said, I'm not going to let
you perish. I'm not. Thank God that the Lord
Jesus Christ said, I'll die for you. I'll lay down my life for
you. What did He do? He became what
I am. You see, I'm a rebel against God. By nature, born in Adam,
I'm a rebel. And there ain't no rebel going
to enter heaven. What's going to happen? I'm going
to have to die. If I die by myself, I have no
hope. Why? I got what I deserved. But you let him die as me, in
my place, as my substitute. Not making it possible. I'm talking
about obeying God and paying what I owe. You let God Almighty
deal with me in a substitute. Thank you. Thank you. And rejoice that the Spirit of
God sovereignly calls men out of darkness. John 3, the Lord's
talking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus, when the Lord told
him, you must be born again, Nicodemus. And Nicodemus in verse
4 of John 3 says, how can that be? How can a man, when he's
old, enter the second time in his mother's womb. And the Lord
explained to him, said, Nicodemus, I'm talking about spiritual birth.
There's got to be a brand new birth. You were born physically
one time. I'm not talking about that, Nicodemus.
I'm talking about being born from above. And how are we born
from above? Well, this is the way the Scripture
reveals it. I will give you a new heart. I'll give you a new spirit. I'll
make you a new man. I'll create it in righteousness. There's a brand new Marvin that's
put. And now I've got two natures
and they oppose each other. They're just one of them. One
of them lusts against the other one and strives against the other
one. One of them does nothing but sin and the other one does
nothing but obey God. They just don't mingle. They don't mix. It's like oil
and water. You stir it up. You think it
mixed. Just give it a second. You'll
find out it didn't. But the Spirit of God quickens. That's what Ephesians 2 says.
And you have to quicken. He made you alive. He gave you
a new heart. He imparted. He put in you. There's a new man that's put
there. And that new man believes God. He believes God. He believes
that God did choose a people. He believes that the Lord Jesus
Christ did pay the debt of all that the Father gave Him. And
the Spirit of God, the Lord said in John 3.8, He said it's like
the wind. The wind blows where it wants
to. You hear the sound thereof. You see the evidence of it, but
you don't know where it's coming from. You don't know where it's going. Who can control the wind?
I was talking to Granny this morning. I just went through
a hurricane last week. Just got the electricity on yesterday. She told me there's another one coming.
Well, I tell you what, we're a sophisticated people. I mean,
it's the 21st century. Let's go out there and steer
that hurricane. You know what it's going to do? Whatever God determines it's
going to do. It'll joggle just wherever it
wants to joggle, and it'll go just wherever He sends it, and
ain't nobody going to stop it. The Spirit of God blows. It's
like the wind. You hear it. The Spirit of God
sovereignly moves, and when it pleases God, He calls men out
of darkness. He calls them by His grace. He
calls them by His power. There is an understanding of
the power and the grace of Almighty God. Bless them that persecute
you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice
with them that do rejoice. If God has given a heart to a
man or a woman to rejoice in the Lord, they rejoice. And another one, if God has given
a heart, they rejoice with Him. Thank you. Lord, thank You. sinner
saved by grace, and weep with them that weep." Weeping for those who are weak.
You know, there was a group of wise virgins and there was a
group of foolish virgins. The Lord gave this parable of
ten virgins. There were five wise and five
foolish. And the Scripture says that the wise virgins, just like
the foolish, they all had a profession, but the wise ones had truly oil
in their lamps. The foolish virgins, they had
a lamp. The lamp is a profession. They
had a lamp, but it didn't have any oil in it. And they waited,
the Scripture was talking about, they waited during the night
for the bridegroom to come. They all dozed for a while. I'm
going to deal with that, not today, Lord willing. They all
dozed. He says they all slept for a
while. But then there was an announcement.
There was the bridegroom came, and the five wise virgins, they
trimmed the wicks on their lamps, and their light shone brightly. And all of a sudden, the foolish
virgins said, we don't have any oil. Give us some of yours. And she's no, no, no, I can't
give you some of mine. You've got to go find where you
can get it yourself. They went off looking for it
and the bridegroom came. They entered into the the chamber
of the wedding feast and the door was closed. They came back. Open up. Open up. We're not able
to be satisfied here. Can you know? No. during the wait, the wise virgins,
while they waited for the bridegroom. A period of night he was talking
about. Psalm 30, verse 5 says, weeping. The Scripture says, weep with
them that weep. Weeping, Psalm 30, verse 5, may
endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Things are always worse. You've got a problem. Something's
not going right. There's a problem in the family.
There's a physical problem. There's a financial problem.
Whatever it is, have you ever noticed it's always worse at
night? It's always worse. And you lay there and you want
to go to sleep and you know, you're thinking, I wonder what
I can do to fix that. And the more you think on it,
the worse it gets. And you think, I wish the sun
would come up. If I could just see outside,
it just seems like when the sun comes up, it's not as bad. I can think. I'm a believer right
now. We see, but we see through a
glass darkly. Things are not as clear right
now. And we have reasons to rejoice,
yes. But the frailty of this flesh
causes my being, my walk, to be hindered. It's night. It's night. Oh, but
one day, the glorious Son of Righteousness
will appear. And the weeping will be over.
No more tears. But for right now, we go through
this world and we weep. We're sorrowful. This life is
filled with trouble. And those that God Almighty has
called out of darkness, they know something about that. And
believers weep with those who weep. They know that this life
is a frailty. They know that it's just a vapor.
They know when they... And when they hurt, you hurt.
When they suffer, you suffer. Weep with them. There's a mutual
love between the members of Christ's body. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
12, 26, "...and whether one member suffer, all the members suffer
with it." One member be honored, all the members rejoice with
it. When you hurt, I hurt. Something providentially comes
up and it's a trial. You've heard that, you know,
I feel your pain. You do. I have one of my children here,
Hannah, her husband, Sammy, and my grandchildren. If my daughter
or my son-in-law called me, said, Dad, can you help me? We're in trouble. You know what
I'd do? All I could. One of my grandchildren, if they
called me, said, Dad, we're at the hospital. You know, I'd break
my heart. You know, how are you insensitive
to the frailties. Weep with those that weep. It's
like the Lord Jesus Christ made like unto His brethren. He wasn't
unequated with our frailties. He perfectly experienced what
we experience being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
we fellowship with those. We rejoice with those that rejoice,
and we weep with those that weep. Almighty God has made us those
regenerated by the grace of God. We're brethren and thankful. Thankful. Well, I'm going to
tell you something. We're going to stop. I'm going
to run out of time. There's more scriptures than
I've got time for. Lord willing, we'll just pick
up right here. But I think just to realize,
just to stop and think, this is what we looked at this morning.
Bless those that persecute you. They were sent by the providence
and good grace of God. Therefore, you're good in His
glory. The Lord will keep you. He'll sustain you. Don't curse
them. Don't ask God's curse upon them.
You say, well, they deserve it. Well, so did I. But for the grace
of God. Rejoice with them that do rejoice. Rejoice that God's had mercy
on anybody. And weep with those that weep. We're not insensitive. We're
not cold, hard, just stones. We're not. I thank God that the Lord would
give us each other. I thank the Lord to be here with
you this morning. Just to be able to say that,
you know, as Abraham said to Lot, we're brethren. May Almighty God be pleased to
teach us something of the sensitivity that God has wrought in us for
others. And be thankful to Him that He
didn't leave us to ourselves. Alright, Gary, won't you come?