forgive us of our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And if we say we have not sinned,
we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Let's take our
Bibles and turn back to the seventeenth chapter of the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 17. I'd like
to pick up this evening where we left off last time. We saw
where the ten horns of the beast, they have one mind to make war
with the Lamb. We are at war. But this war is being fought
Paul the Apostle tells us not with weapons that are carnal,
that means fleshly and temporal, but the weapons of our warfare
are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
Now, the strongholds of Satan are ignorance, prejudice, vain
imaginations, fleshly lust, And these strongholds, and this is
where this battle is being fought, these strongholds are pulled
down only by the might of Almighty God's Spirit bestowing life and
grace to the sheep through the means or the avenue of the hearing
of the gospel. This is where the battle is fought.
There is a war that is going on. What are the weapons of our
warfare? It is God Almighty giving, teaching,
keeping, showing. That is where we are fighting
the battle. We don't have anything of ourselves to fight with. God
teaches us. And for sure, the Lamb shall
overcome them. False religion, this world's
cares and lust, shall be destroyed. But for right now, I'm telling
you, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. But
I'm telling you, we're in a battle. Why? Because He's the Lord of
lords and King of kings. And all that are with Him, and
this is where we left off this morning. All that are with Him,
the Scripture says, united by faith with Him, in Him. There are three characteristics
of those that are with Him. First of all, the Scripture says,
they that are with Him are called. Now, they are referred to in
Romans 8.28 as the called. That word, called, right there. I'll tell you what, turn over
to Romans 8.28. Let me show you something that
just wonderfully set forth in these Scriptures. They are called, the called. Now, the word in Revelation 17
that we're looking at in verse 14 where it says, they are called,
is the same word in Romans 8.28 when it says, And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His purpose. Now, that word
called in Revelation 17 and be called in Romans 8.28 means appointed. are distinguished. They are labeled. Who are they? They are called the called. That is their label. They are
the called. All that the Father giveth Me,
they are going to come to Me. Why? Because this is their distinction. They are the called. That is their label. There's
another word, and the word is called. If you look down to verse
30 in Romans 8, now in verse 28 of Romans 8, it says, those
who are the called, they're appointed to apostleship. That's the word,
appointed to apostleship. Now in verse 30 it says, moreover,
whom He did predestinate, them he also called." That word means
summoned. Two different words that is associated
with God's people. One of them means they're appointed
to apostleship. Now that's the word in Revelation
17. Who are with Him? I'll tell you
who they are. They are called. They are appointed. to apostleship,
and those that are appointed, the called, are summoned. They are called out. So Revelation
chapter 17 verse 14 says that their position, who are they
that are with Him? Well, this is who they are. This
is their position. They are called. In Romans chapter
1, And verse 1, Romans 1, 1, same word that is used in Revelation
17 that we're looking at. This is the same word Paul says
in Romans 1, 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. That's
his position. And those that God puts in that
position, He will summon them. Two words. concerning God's people. A little bit better explanation,
1 Thessalonians 5, 9 and 10. Let me just read this to you.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we
wake or sleep we should live together with Him. It's an appointment. Those that are with Him, How
did they get with Him? How did they get with Him? I'll
tell you how they did. God appointed them to that. And
those that He appointed, He summons. He will effectually call. So
the call to the called is a divine call. That word called, that's
their position. They're summoned. John 10.3 says
to Him, the porter openeth, and the sheep that are called hear
His voice, and He calleth His own sheep by name, and He leadeth
them out." David said in Psalm 65, "...for blessed is the man
whom thou choosest the call, and causeth to approach unto
thee." Who are they that are with Him? I tell you who they
are. They are called. And secondly, the Scripture says,
and chosen. Who are they? Chosen, picked
out, or selected. Now this blessed truth is the
foundation of a believer's joy. Ephesians 1, verse 4 says, According
as He hath chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the
world that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. This truth chosen by Almighty
God is the foundation of all of our thanks to Him. Here is the foundation of all
thanks to Almighty God. He chose us. 2 Thessalonians
2 verse 13, to give thanks, Paul says, all the way to God for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because He hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. God has chosen to bring His people
to Himself by the regenerating and sanctifying grace of His
Holy Spirit who imparts a new nature which is known and realized
at the new birth. God Almighty set apart, distinguished
a people. Who are they? They are the called
and chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ. And He has not chosen
us in His Son because He foresaw." I know how men say, well, God
looked down in time and He saw that there would be some that
would choose Him. Therefore, they say, He chose
all that would choose Him. Now you think about that. If
that's not, election based on man's works, I don't know what
is. But, as I've said before, Psalm 14, 2 and 3 says that God
did look. He did look. And it says, The
Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see
if there were any that did understand and seek God. And this was God's
conclusion. They are all gone aside. They
are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Not one. So for someone to say
God looked and foresaw who would choose Him, therefore He chose
them, is directly contradictory to that Scripture right there.
God did look. How many sought Him? None. How
many of them did good? None. So what did He base His
electing grace upon? He loved them eternally, everlasting
love. He said, therefore, I chose you.
What was it based on? According to the good pleasure
of His will. He chose them. Who are they with Him? We were
chosen unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
And these chosen, they shall be kept and finally and powerfully
brought to Himself." I'll tell you how they'll get there. It
will not be because of any merit in themselves that they were
just able. The Scripture says in Mark 13,
27, "...and then shall He send His angels and shall gather together His
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth
to the uttermost part of heaven." What is the extent of that? Well,
I can tell you this. I know for a fact that in the
book of Revelation that we are looking at right now, He considers
and sets forth His preachers to be angels. And He sends His
angels to come and preach the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ And that gospel that they preach is the power of God and
salvation to gather them to Himself. And He shall bring them to Himself. And I know that in time, He says
His angels, whether that means the angels considered to be the
preachers or His heavenly angels to bring them in death, I don't
know the extent of it, but I'll tell you this, it won't be because
they themselves, Bob, kept themselves and brought themselves to the
Lord. The Scripture says, He shall
send His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds. And all that He has chosen shall
surely be saved. All John 6, verse 37, that the
Father giveth Me shall come to Me. It means that they will arrive
and be present They shall come to me, they'll arrive, and they
will be present, and him that cometh to me, that is, him that
appears, that's what that word means, to me, I will in no wise
cast out. The Lord Jesus Christ will cause
His people to come. Why? Because He'll gather them
from the four winds. Don't worry. All that He's chosen,
they'll be there. Why would they be there? He'll
bring them. Why? Because of what they've done?
No. Because of what He's done. What He's charged to them, the
righteousness of His blessed Son. And being chosen in Christ
unto salvation is known one way. How do you know one of God's
elect? I'll tell you how you know. Before
they leave this world, they'll believe the gospel. And they'll
be kept in the gospel. 1 Thessalonians 1, 4-5, Knowing,
brethren, beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not
unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. So here's the thing I know about
those that are with Him. Number one, they're called. They're
appointed to that. They're called. And those that
are the called will be called. They are chosen by Almighty God
affectionately and powerfully, setting His love upon them and
setting them apart, sanctifying them by His Spirit. And here's
the third thing I know about them and faithful. Faithful. That word right there, faithful,
means trustworthy, sure, and true. They're faithful. Faithful. Faithful. The sure
characteristic or the effect of calling, choosing, is faithfulness. Faithfulness. in what aspect? Because I know
how a believer hears that and they say, oh, I don't see faithfulness
like I wish I did in myself. All true believers are faithful
to Christ. Do they see inconsistencies in
that old nature in themselves? Oh, yes. But I don't need to
go back and read Romans 7. I mean, I can read you Paul.
We quoted it this morning. Paul says, in me, that is in
my flesh, there dwells no good thing. The will is present. He says, though, he said, I see
two services. One service, that old man serves
the law of sin. But he said, with my mind, that
new mind, that new creation, he said, I serve the law of God.
God's people are faithful. to Christ. They're faithful to
the belief of the gospel. They're faithful to His will
and glory because they're kept by the power of God through faith. They're faithful. God keeps them
in the gospel. This is not something that you
have the ability to do. God keeps you. They're faithful. What's the sign of God's people? He keeps them faithful. Do they
see inconsistencies? Yes, they see inconsistencies.
And they hate it. They hate the inconsistencies.
Faithfulness is not something that is natural to the old man.
Disobedience is. But the saints of God, those
given a new heart of faithfulness, are trusted. They are trustworthy
and depended upon stewards of the gospel because God has put
His seed there. That which is born of God cannot
sin. Why? Because His seed remains
there. They're trustworthy. They're
faithful. They will, by grace, fight a
good fight. They will finish the course.
And they will die in the faith. Why? Because God keeps them.
They didn't keep themselves. They're faithful. The ten horns
make war with the Lamb, but He shall overcome them. Scripture
says, He is the Lord of lords, kings of kings, and they are
with Him. They are called and chosen and
faithful. I want you to notice that all
that is said about those with Him is according to His love. He set them apart as an apostle. He distinguished them in that
position. They were called. And He chose
them. And He keeps them. They are faithful.
Not because of themselves. Because of Him. And this whore
that sits and remains and dwells in the midst of all the nation,
that's what verse 15, He said unto me, verse 15, The waters
that thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes
and nations and tongues. Though false religion appears
to be saying, as we looked at all the different things John
is being taught, he said this is the reason why God's people
are still here. It's because God keeps them and
they're sitting in the midst of this great battle, this war. Religious harlot. And this religion
appears to be saying different things. That's what we looked
at last week. But they're not. It's all either
free grace or works to merit a salvation before God. Attempting
to reconcile themselves to the God of their imagination. That's
what works religion is trying to do. We were talking and talking
with some friends the other day when I had one of my kids had
an imaginary friend. Now, this is real. I mean, this
is real. Had an imaginary friend. And when my daughter grew up,
I asked her one day, because, I mean, she talked to that imaginary
friend. I mean, just like that imaginary friend was there. She
really did. And I asked her one day, I said,
baby, let me ask you something. She was like 17, 18 years old,
not when she had the imaginary friend. And I asked her, I said,
you remember when you had that imaginary friend? She said, yes,
sir. I said, did you in your mind,
did you really see her? It was a girl. She told me it
was a girl. And she could describe it. She could describe it. She
said she had blonde hair and it was long and she was, you
know, taller. She saw that point. She saw it. It wasn't there. But in her mind, and I just,
I still couldn't. And I began to think on that.
This God that false religion It's the God of their imagination. They make up an imaginary friend. And their God is who they're
trying to please. False religion is the great whore,
the deceiver of this world. And the Scripture says in verse
16, "...and the ten horns which thou sawest the cares of this
world, which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh and burn her with fire." Now, you know, there seems to
be some inconsistency from what we just read in verse 12 and
13. Well, 12 and 13 says, The ten
horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no
kingdom as yet, but received power as kings one hour with
the beast. They have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast. Now that, you
know, you say, well, okay, they're in cahoots, which they are. This one says in verse 16, And
the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate
the whore. shall make her desolate, naked, and shall eat her flesh,
and burn her with fire." There, in verse 12 and 13, the Scripture
says they received power as kings one hour with the beast, and
they had one mind and gave their power and strength to the beast. But now the Scripture says this
is going to be the end result. Look at the wording in verse
16. They shall hate the whore. They shall make her desolate
and naked, and shall eat her flesh." Knowing the ten horns
to be this world's cares, this world's pleasures, this world's
false securities, what is being said here? You have to understand, and I
am going to read a Scripture in a moment out of Romans 14
to show you I'll try to show you what I'm talking about right
here, but I believe that what is being set forth, now the word
shall gives us some indication, meaning it's going to be, or
eventually. I believe what's being set forth
in this passage is that all that the great whore, false religion,
has promised. to these that are sucked in by
all of these things of this world. All that the great harlot has
promised through the strength of the ten horns of this world's
cares, and that's what those ten horns, I believe, represent.
Pleasures and lusts shall be shown to be a lie. They're going
to be shown to be a lie, the ground for hatred and resentment
and discussed. Turn over to Matthew 26. I think
that this has got to be the greatest of all explanations of this Scripture
right here. Matthew 26, verse 14, Then one
of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priest, and
said unto them, What will you give me? And I'll deliver him
unto you." And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of
silver, and from that time, he sought opportunity to betray
him. Now just hold your hand there.
Judas had come to the chief priest, high priest, and Scripture in
another verse said that Satan had entered his heart You know,
he came to him and he said, what do you give me? What's in it
for me? Lust of the eyes, lust of the
flesh, pride of life. I'll sell him out. I'll make
myself a name. No, I had no telling what went
through his mind. Exodus 21, 32 said the price of a servant
was 30 pieces of silver. And here is the servant of Almighty
God sold out. What do you give me? We'll give
you 30 pieces of silver. Done. I wonder how many times
in his mind he counted those pieces of silver and stacked
them up, laid them out, looked at them, turned them both ways. And for a while, They looked
good. Thirty pieces of silver. I tried to figure out how much
money that was, Brother Scott, and I couldn't do it. Evidently,
I know a penny was a day's wages. Thirty pieces of silver? I don't
know. It must have been just a goodly amount of money. But
Judas, he came to them and he said, I'll sell him out. Sell my soul for thirty pieces
of silver. Turn over to Matthew 27, verse
3. It says, Matthew 27, verse 3, "...then
Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that he was condemned,
he repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned, in that
I have betrayed..." Now look at this. innocent blood. I never realized that's exactly
what it said until I went back and read it. I betrayed the innocent. I didn't just betray innocent
blood. I betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is
that to us? See thou to that. And he cast
down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went
out and hanged himself. The Scripture says that Judas
He got to thinking about it. When he saw that he was condemned,
he repented himself. Now, you know, the Scripture
says, the Lord Jesus Christ says, lest you repent, you'll all likewise
perish. It says right here that Judas
repented himself. But there's only one problem.
Those two words are different. This word right here, repented,
means he regretted it. He regretted it. You know, a
criminal, he doesn't regret it until he's caught. Now, the Scripture
that says, lest you repent, that word means to think differently
concerning how God justifies a sinner. Here, Judas realized
what he had done and he regretted it. Ah, I shouldn't have done
that. Here, I'm going to give you the
money back. They said, oh, that's blood money. No, that's yours.
That's all yours. You did exactly what you wanted
to do. It's yours. And he went out, the Scripture
says, and he hanged himself. Turn over to Romans 14. Let me
ask you something. Was anything wrong with the 30
pieces of silver in the money itself? There's a coin. Was anything
wrong with that particular coin? The piece of silver itself. Romans
14, 14, Paul says, I know, I'm persuaded by the Lord Jesus that
there's nothing unclean of itself. But to him that esteemeth everything
to be unclean, to him it's unclean. There's nothing wrong with money.
There's nothing wrong with things. The things of this world in themselves. These ten horns that I've been
talking about. The cares of this world. It's
not the things themselves. It's how it's manifested in the
heart and the desire for it and the love for it and the going
after it. The Scripture says that there's
coming a time back in Revelation 17 that when this great whore,
the harlot, Mystery Babylon, through the power of these ten
horns, the things of this world, She's promised health and wealth
and ease and the wicked of this world by God giving them exactly
what they want. She'll give their power and strength
to the beast by believing her life. They're never satisfied,
but they go after it. It's never enough. Ten thousand
dollars is what a man wants until he's got it, and then twenty
looks better. Whatever it's got to be, I'll
take that. They will despise her for her lying promises in
time. They shall. It may be in that
day when the Lord, they stand before Almighty God and they
begin to give all of these reasons for us, God. Haven't we done? He said, I never knew you. And
they'll hate the whore. They'll hate her and all of these
things that they went at her. It went after it, had to have,
and it's mine. I'll take this. I'll knock down
that barn. I've got a bigger barn. I'm telling
you, I've got to have that. They'll eat her flesh, burn it
with fire. Not that the wicked will be able
to execute the great judgments upon the whore. They're not the
one. that is going to eat her flesh and burn her with fire,
but they are made to be the instruments of God's providence in her destruction,
the things that they went after. And the Scripture says, For God
hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will. The literal of that
statement is, God hath gave unto their hearts to do His will. God Almighty has left them to
themselves to do exactly what they wanted to do. God has put
in their hearts to fulfill His will and to agree and give their
kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled. Almighty God is just in leaving
a man to himself to do exactly what he wants to do, to go after
and to get after and to crave after the ten horns, the emblems
of power of the great beast of this world that the whore sits
on, false religion that sits on the cares of this world and
says, I promise you this. God doesn't want you to be sick.
God doesn't want you to be poor. God doesn't want you to this.
Come after me. Do me. And one day, those ten
horns through those that believe them. You shall hate that whore. Despise her. Hate her. Just like Judas. Give me what
you will. You saw it. I don't want this.
The chief priest says, oh no, that's yours. That's what you
wanted. You wanted 30 pieces. You got
it. Now what? He hanged himself. Hated him. I'm sure that when they first
came and he started talking to those false religionists, oh,
how religious they sounded. You know, we're of the Lord,
and we're not going to have Him. I mean, this man is speaking
against God. Here, let us pay you. Show us
who He is. And when he saw that, and saw
what they were somewhat, and regretted it, tried to give it
back, can you imagine how that money just... blood money. Blood
money. And the woman, verse 18, which
thou sawest, is that great city which reigneth over the kings
of this world." Men cunningly try to appear to be joyful and
peaceful in the great whore's promises. But eventually God
will fully expose what men right now are attempting to hide, their
for false religion that tries to bridle them. Men try to put
up such a front. But Proverbs 21.1 says, ìThe
kingís heart is in the hands of the Lord as the rivers of
water. He turneth it whithersoever he
will.î Almighty God is ordering all things in this world according
to His good pleasure and His will. He has called. He's appointed
them not to wrath, but to life. Chosen in His Son. And they're faithful. God keeps
them. And to others, He's left them
to go after all that this world has to offer. Ten horns. But one day there will be a reckoning
and all things are going to be brought to light. And one day
all of these promises that the great harlot promised men, women,
that God left to themselves to do exactly what they wanted to
do, one day they will come as Judas did and say, I changed
my mind. Here, I don't want it. I don't
want it. And then will they hear Him say, depart from Me, you
workers of iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew
you. Oh my, what a wonderful thought
that Almighty God would call a man, choose a man, bring him
to Himself, all because it pleased Him to do so. Okay, Gary.