Well, let's take our Bibles and
turn back to Obadiah. Obadiah. I would like to pick up where
I left off this morning. Obadiah. We realize that to be able to set the foundation
of what we consider this evening, as we did this morning, that
Edom is Esau. That's what Scripture says. Edom
is Esau's country, Esau's hope, Esau's foundation. that Esau is my enemy. Esau have I hated. Esau have
I left to himself. Esau. Esau is a picture of all that resist Almighty God. And in absolute justice, God
is right. We said this morning in dealing
with all rebels. It's right for a king to put
down, to destroy all of his enemies, those that rise up against him. The epitome, the height, the
top, the pinnacle, say it any way you want to say it, but the
A rebellion against Almighty God is man standing up and saying,
I have a free will to do what I want to do, and God has no
right to tell me what I can do. Men stand and they say that they
have, you know, free will. They boast in that. Man by nature despises the things
of God. When Esau came in from hunting, he came up to Jacob. Jacob had
been promised the birthright. The elder Esau, now these boys
were twins, they were twin boys, twins. conceived in the womb
of the mother, their same mother, same twin boys. And the Lord told Mama, there
are two nations in you, two different ones. These two boys are representatives
of everybody. Either Almighty God, that is
going to leave a man to himself, Or he's going to show mercy to
him. One or two. Esau, I hate it. Esau came in
from hunting. Jacob was making some pottage. Had some lentils and stuff. Red,
some red soup. That's what eat them. I mean
red. He came in and he said, give me some of that right there.
Hungry. I need some food. I'm about to
die." And Jacob said, I want your birthright. Know what Esau
said? What difference is it to me?
I'm about to die. You can have it. I don't care. What will a man give in exchange
for his soul? What will he give? Well, I'll tell you this. He'll
come right down to a bowl of soup. He'll give whatever it
takes. I don't really care. That's what
he says. That's what man by nature says.
That's Esau. Esau, the Scripture says, is
Edom. So now we come to the fifth verse.
We looked this morning. The Lord had sent a prophet to
Edom. Thus saith the Lord, verse 1,
concerning Edom. We've heard a rumor from the
Lord. An ambassador is sent among the
heathen. God sent prophets. Finally, He
sent His Son. That's what He said. And man
by nature says this. I'm not going to have Him rule
over me. Arise ye, let us rise up against her in battle. The
Lord said concerning Edom in verse 2, I made you small among
the heathen. Thou art greatly despised. The
pride of your heart, verse 3, has deceived you. Thou that dwellest
in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, you said
in your heart, Who will bring me down? And the Lord said in
verse four, Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, though
thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down,
saith the Lord." That's what we looked at this morning. Verse
five says this, If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night,
how art thou cut off? Would they not have stolen till
they had enough? If the grape gatherers came to
thee, would they not leave some grapes? How are the things of
Esau searched out? How are his hidden things sought
up? The question I'll ask you is
this. How depraved is man? Now, God's going to deal with
Edom. That's what He said. I'm going
to cut him off. How depraved is a man? Man by nature says, when he hears
that, that man is depraved. Man says, I know that probably
in the garden, man probably messed up. I don't doubt that a bit. made a mistake. And maybe he
shouldn't have eaten of that fruit. Maybe he shouldn't. Therefore, I realize that man
has kind of set himself in a situation here that's not real good. But he's still got the sense
enough to know that if he's fallen into this slew of despond, he
ought to be able to figure out that he's got to get out of that
mess and lift himself up by his own bootstraps and elevate himself
back into a position of right standing with God. Surely you
don't believe, man says, that a man is absolutely totally without
strength. Surely you don't believe that
a man is totally, completely depraved. Yeah, that's exactly
what I mean. The prophet says in verse 5,
if thieves came to you, just common thieves, if robbers came
by night, how art thou cut off Would they not have stolen till
they had enough? What Obadiah is saying, under
the inspiration of the Spirit of God, is this. If a common
criminal came, broke in somebody's house, kind of cased the house
out, notice that they hadn't been there two or three days,
all the lights are on, same lights are on, last night, night before.
I think they're on vacation. I think it's going to be easy
pickings. Let's go in there and get common criminals broke into
a house, would they steal everything, absolutely everything? No, they
wouldn't. Now, I'll tell you what they'd
do. They'd take all the, take the money and they'd take the
jewels and they'd maybe take the VCR and maybe the television. But as far as the refrigerator,
the carpet, they're not going to come up here and rip up the
carpet. and start taking the paneling and drywall off the
walls. You see what I'm saying? They're
not going to take everything. If these came to thee, if robbers
by night, how art thou cut off? Would they not have stolen till
they had enough? They're going to take what they've
got to have, what's valuable to them, and leave it. If the
grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some, whether
a man came to lawfully gather grapes. You know, they hired
them. You know, the law provided some
gleaning to be left. They had to leave some for the
poor. They had to leave something, you know, whether they were lawfully
taking it or whether it was somebody that came in and slipped into
your vineyard and came and all your grapes were just, I mean,
they were just ripe. You were going to get them tomorrow.
That was going to be your prize harvest right there. Man, we
were going to have a good harvest. And they came in there. and stole
them all. Well, they didn't steal everything.
There was a few little grapes here and there, just a little
bit. There was some. If the grape gatherers came,
would they not leave thee some grape? Wouldn't there be something
left? How depraved this man! But oh, how you are cut off! How are the things of Esau, verse
6, searched out? How are his hidden things sought
of? Man, by the thief of sin, has
been stripped of everything. Everything. Life, hope, peace,
comfort, everything. It's all gone, Mitch. It's all
gone. There's nothing. He's totally depraved. The things
that man has put his confidence in is going to absolutely come
to nothing. Man lays up for himself treasures. Now, I'm not talking about just
money and land. I'm talking about peace for himself,
comfort for himself. I'm talking about everything,
everything, the treasure he's got, the treasure of his decision. I was nine years old, man says,
eleven. I was seventeen years old, and
I made an agreement with God. I promised him this. I gave him my heart. I was baptized. And I realized that maybe I,
you know, I might be backslidden a little bit. I understand this.
But they've always told me, once saved, always saved. I'll tell
you this, if God ever saves a man, that man is eternally secure.
I had no doubt about that. But to put self-confidence in
a decision that you made, a dead man, a dead man, making a decision. Look at a casket. Look at a corpse
in a casket. And ask that corpse, I want you
to make a couple of decisions for me right here. And after
you've made those decisions, all your confidence is going
to be in that. You say, that's ridiculous. Yeah? But it's not
as ridiculous as a man thinking that he's got some confidence
and hope before Almighty God in His own self. The treasure
of self-righteousness and self-ability and the moth and rust of the
weakness of a man's flesh has corrupted everything. If robbers
and thieves came in and great gatherers came in, they'd leave
something. But, oh, you're cut off! You're
gone! The thieves of Satan and self
and sin He's stolen a man's soul. A man is cut off. He's cut off. He is cut off. You're off. Somebody says, I'm cutting you
off. I had a guy years ago that was
living beside me. I had bought a business from
my dad. I'd taken over. And there was some, there was
a little rent house there. And this man was, his wife was
living in there. And there were some things that
I found out that were just, that just weren't right. Some things
that I found out just wasn't on the up and up. And I just
told him, I said, I'm sorry. But 30 days, I've got to give
you notice. It's over. Just, you know, going
to have to move. I'm sorry. I hate that. But I
just can't, you know. It's over. Over. First of this month, done. It's
over. Cut off. A man tells somebody, you know,
I'm just going to cut you off. What does that mean? No more
help. No more assistance. You're not
going to get anything. It's not from me. You're cut
off. Oh, how art thou art cut off. If Almighty God If God Almighty,
here is a man and a woman in this world, born and conceived
in sin, come forth speaking lies, if God says, I cut you off, what
hope does a man or a woman have? None. None. Oh, how thou art
cut off, cut off from God Almighty, cut off from comfort. cut off
from peace, cut off from life, cut off. The things of man's
security have been searched out by the inflexible law of God's
justice, and man's hidden things of false security are sought
up, weighed in the balance of God's law, God's judgment, and
they've been found wanting, lacking, insufficient, every crevice of
false hope, false peace, is going to be rooted out, exposed, everything. Every idle word of rebellion
is going to be brought forth to expose. Man is totally depraved. Salvation must be by grace. It must be by sovereign, saving
grace. If a man or woman has any hope,
it is this, God Almighty He saved them in spite of them because
it pleased Him. Cut off. Verse 7, All the men
of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border. The
men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee and prevailed
against thee. They that eat thy bread have
laid a wound unto thee. There is none understanding in
him. Shall I not in that day, saith
the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding
out of the mount of Esau, that thy mighty men, O teman, shall
be dismayed to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may
be cut off out by slaughter? Almighty God is just. All the men, verse 7, of thy
confederacy have brought thee even to the border. Jeremiah 17, verse 5, says this,
Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man. Now, you think, that's
another one of those verses. When Almighty God says, Blessed
be the man, you know, that's when we listen. I want to hear
that. Here it says, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. I'm not talking about just another
man. I'm talking about trusting in
yourself. Cursed is the man, be the man, that trusteth in
man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departed. from the Lord. Cursed is that
man. He's in trouble. All the men of thy confederacy. We read this morning. I'll just
tell you this. We won't go back and read it.
But Jeremiah 27, you remember when we read this morning that
the Lord says, I want you to make a band, a collar around
your neck. And you go to these people, the
people of Edom, go to the people of Moab, go to the people the
Amorites of Ammon, and you say to them, I'm going to cut you
off. I'm going to turn your land over
to Nebuchadnezzar. Almighty God said these people,
they were in cahoots together. They were bound themselves together. These were friends. These people
of Ammon, the people of Moab, the people of Eden were strong,
strong people. You're not going to come up against
us. You remember when the Assyrians set outside the city and put
a siege on the city? And the king of Assyrians sent
a letter to the king and said, I'm going to destroy you. This
is what I'm going to do. And that king laid the letter
out before the Lord and said, Lord, this is what they said. Here's what they're going to
say. And the angel of the Lord came and killed This is what these
men have done. They made themselves an alliance. We're confederates. Who can be
trusted when it comes to this thing of salvation, God's grace? All the men of thy confederacy
have brought thee even to the borders. We're your friends. We're friends. You trust us.
Friends. I want you to look down here.
In verse 9, this was real interesting to me. Thy mighty men, O Teman,
shall be dismayed. Teman was Esau's grandson. Esau had a son named Eliphaz. And Eliphaz had a son named Teman. He was a Temanite of Esau. Okay? Turn with me to Job. Job chapter 4. Job 4. Here was Job. The Lord said,
Have you considered talking to Satan? Have you considered My
servant Job? A just man. He's a just man. One made just
and righteous by Almighty God, by the imputed righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eliphaz, Esau, had a boy named
Eliphaz. Okay? Esau. Job chapter 4. Then Eliphaz, the Temanite, answered
and said, he's talking to Job. Remember Job had three friends. Remember that? Three friends.
If we say to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who
can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, now this is Eliphaz speaking
to Job. Behold, thou hast instructed
many, thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have
upholded him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the
feeble. But now it has come unto thee. Thou faintest, touchest
thee, and thou art wounded. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence,
thy hope, thy uprightness? Thy ways, remember, I pray thee,
whoever perish, be an innocent." Where were the righteous cut
off? You see, here's a man, Eliphaz. He's a Temanite. That was Esau
talking to Job. Remember that? If you go to the
book of Job, go to the end of the book of Job, what did God
say to these three men that were Job's friends? He said, if Job
doesn't intercede for you, I'm going to cut you off. I'm going
to destroy you. Friends. These are friends. They
told Job. In a nutshell, they told Job,
I'll tell you why you're suffering. Because surely you've done something
wrong. I noticed you had those shifty
eyes, Job. I never did trust you. Evidently,
there's some skeletons in the closet. What had Job done? He had stood uprightly before
Almighty God, and Almighty God allowed him by his grace and
by his providence and by his power. Job was exactly where
God had placed him because that's where God put him. Job was a
just man, and these men told him, he said, I know, I know
this. If you're suffering, it's because you've rebelled against
God. Just because you're going through something and you're
suffering, Remember this, all these things are working together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to his purpose. But this man, Eliphaz, the Temanite,
son of Esau, Teman, Esau's grandson, Almighty God says, all the men
of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border. The
men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, prevailed
against thee. They that eat thy bread have
laid a wound unto thee. There is none understanding in
him." Who are these friends? Job 4, 16 and 17, shall mortal
man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than
his Maker? That is to say, does man know
more than the Lord Himself? Behold, he, the Lord himself,
puts no trust in his servants." These people right here, Edom,
Esau, they align themselves with Moab and Ammon. We're strong. You're not going to bring us
down. The Lord says he's put no trust in his servants, and
with his angels he's charged with folly. God put no trust
in any of His servants. If you want to get right down
to it, everything in this world is the servant of Almighty God. It's His. He's the Creator. He made it. I can do what I will
with my own. I can raise up this one and abase
this one. I can speak to the wind and the
waves and they obey me. They're my servants. The earth
is mine. The stars, the heavens are mine.
The cattle on the thousand hills are mine. If I needed anything,
I wouldn't ask you. Job raised himself up to the
question of the Lord and His providence. You read it back
toward the end of Job, and the Lord said, Gird up the loins.
And let me ask you something. Where were you? When I laid the
foundations of this world, where were you? Where were you when
I laid the mystery of the snow? Where were you? Who do you think
you are, lying yourself against me?" God puts no trust in His servants,
whether it be the enemies of God's people, whether it be the
wind, the waves, whether it be His very elect. He puts no trust
in them. He didn't trust them with themselves.
He knew their natural weakness. He knew their frailty. He knew
how liable they are to sin and rebellion and failure. They resist
Him, left to themselves. Therefore, He chose them in the
Lord Jesus Christ, their surety. Put them into His hands and made
Him to be their covenant head. He puts no trust in His servants.
Almighty God did not choose a people and then leave them to themselves
to come to Him. No, sir. He puts no trust with
His angels. He's charged with folly. The
word folly means weakness. For they are not all-knowing.
Almighty God alone is omniscient. The angels desirously look into
the things of mercy and redemption. That's what Scripture says. They
look into those things and wonder. Friendship of this world is enmity,
resistance with Almighty God. Friendship with the world makes
us spiritual adulterers and adulteresses. Friendship of this world All
the men of thy confederacy have brought thee to the border. They
that were at peace with thee." They've deceived you. Was Eve
deceived? Was Eve deceived? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. She was deceived. Adam,
with his eyes wide open, he knew just exactly what he was doing.
He knew it. And the day that you eat thereof,
you're going to die. And in the day he ate, he died. All the men, they've deceived
you. Those that said, we're at peace
with you. You're my friend. I'll never
let you down. Turn with me to the book of Proverbs. I'm going to read something to
you. Proverbs chapter 7. Proverbs 7. This is a passage of scripture. It's talking about a harlot, deceitful woman. But I'm going
to show you this in just a minute, how this is a picture of false
religion. This harlot in this story right
here, a picture. I'm not saying that this is the
only picture. In reality, It's true. I mean, in just the plainness
of it, it's true, of harlotry and whoredoms and stuff. But
it's a picture of false religion. The harlot, I'm going to show
you this in the book of Revelation also in just a minute. But in
Proverbs, in speaking of this harlot, you think of this being
false free will. You say, boy, I tell you what,
you sure hammer on that a lot. I'm telling you, that religious
Free willism is rebellion against God. It resists everything that
God says. Proverbs chapter 7 verse 6, For
at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld
among the simple ones I discerned among the youths a young man
void of understanding. That's the first thing you've
got to notice. Man by nature is void of understanding. Passing
through the street near her corner, He went in to her house in the
twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And
behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot,
subtle of heart." Oh, I'm telling you, the attire of a harlot,
she was enticing. You watch, you look at mainstream
religion, what they promise. Health, wealth, prosperity, come
here, the Lord's got a plan for you. Come over here, send me
$19.95, and I want you to have this book so bad it's going to
help you. Send the Lord your money. Here's my address. You're my friend. Oh, I've got
your best in heart." She had the attire of a harlot. Looked
good. Smelled good. She's loud and
stubborn. Her feet abide not in her house.
Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at
every corner. So she called him, kissed him.
With an impudent face she said to him, I have peace offerings
with me. This day have I paid my vows.
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy
face, and I found thee. I decked my bed with coverings
of tapestry, with carved works, fine linen of Egypt. I perfumed
my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our
Fill of love till the morning, let us soulless ourselves with
love. For the good man is not at home,
he's gone a long journey. He hath taken a bag of money
with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her
much fair speech she caused him to yield. With the flattery of
her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway
as an ox, goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction
of the stock till a dart strike through his liver. As a bird
hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children. Attend to the
words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to
her ways. Go not astray in her path, for
she hath cast down many wounded. Yea, many strong men have been
slain by her. Her house is the way to hell,
going down to the chambers of death." This great harlot. I turn with me to Revelation
17. Revelation 17. Revelation, chapter 17, verse
one, there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials
and talked with me, saying to me, Come hither, I will show
unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon
many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,
that is, spiritual fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth
have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he
carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw
a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations
and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name
written, Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with
the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Man, by
nature, is religious. Man, by nature, is religious. He's religious. I was down in
Mexico a couple of years ago. I told you this, but I'll just
remind you. We went to the Mayan ruins. And
they showed us where these Mayan priests, heathen priests, they
knew that somehow the gods needed to be appeased. And they would
get women. They would get unmarried, virgin
women to come and line them up. And they would line these women
up and take them and cut their hearts out and lay it on this
altar. It was a panther. And they knew. The gods are angry. They knew
something about needing an atonement. They knew something. Blood was
going to have to be shed. The problem was the heart. Here's
the heart. There it is, right there. They
knew something about needing a propitiation. They took that
sacrifice and laid it on that altar. They knew something. Man
by nature is religious. He's religious, but man by nature
He hates Almighty God. He hates God's way. He hates
Christ. He hates God's atonement, God's
Lamb, God's propitiation. I can provide my own way. I can
take all these women here and cut their hearts out. I can please
you. Man by nature says, I can give
you my own heart. I'll cut my own heart out and
I'll give it to the Lord. abomination, absolute abomination. Man by nature is fooled. False religion says, I am with
you. I will stand with you. Oh, in
that great day, do not worry. I am your friend. I am your confederate.
We are going to prevail. But in that day, the deception
is going to be seen. for thy confederacy have brought
thee even to the border." They've come right to the edge. They'll
say, you know what? We'll fight with you. But I'm
telling you, in that day, they'll not stand. They can't stand. There wasn't any peace at all.
The lies against Almighty God are not going to stand for you.
They're going to be your demise. False will, free will, religion
is going to prove to be the reason of your downfall. Though hand
joined in hand, the Scripture says, the wicked shall not be
unpunished. Shall not I, verse 8, in that
day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, or
those that think themselves wise? 1 Corinthians, let me just read
this to you. 1 Corinthians 1, 19 and 20. The Lord says, it's written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? Everyone that resists Him, God
is going to cut off. Thy mighty men, verse 9, O Timon,
shall be dismayed. To the end that every one of
the mouth of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. Every one of
the mouth of Esau. God is going to leave him to
himself. Cut off. Hope and mercy. Cut off from compassion. But
even in the destruction, of the wicked. Do we not behold the
glory of Almighty God? All things, the scripture says,
all things, all things, all things work together. Let me ask you
this, you that believe. Do you not behold in the justice
of Almighty God, that God is just? Do you not behold his sovereignty? Do you? You say, God left that
man to himself, left that woman to herself. If God has purposed to do that,
what are you going to do to change it? Let me ask you this. Would you desire to change it?
Will the judge of this world not do right? What do you do
in a case like this? I'll tell you exactly what you
do. You bow. You bow to Him. Lord, as You say, You are. Lord, You're sovereign. Lord,
for me to question Your Word, for me to question that which
You said is so, perish the thought. Perish the thought. that I question
Him. That's what Paul says. Who art
thou, O man, that replies against God? What are you going to say? Is God right in leaving one to
Himself and showing mercy to another? He's right. What do you say? Lord, I pray. I know You're sovereign. Lord,
I know that You're going to do exactly what You want to do.
I ask you to show mercy. I ask you to show mercy to me.
Lord, I want you to show mercy to my kids. I want you to show
mercy to my wife. Show mercy to my husband. Lord,
would you save my dad? Lord, would you have mercy on
my family, my cousins? Lord, my neighbor, I'm asking
you. I'm asking you to show mercy.
Is he going to do that which he's pleased to do? Yes, he is.
What do we do? We cast ourselves upon Him. Do we not see the distinguishing
grace of Almighty God? Remember, Jacob and Esau were
twins. Was there anything in Jacob of
himself to merit God's mercy? No. In fact, if you looked at
two of them, I don't doubt for one second If you'd have met
them both, you'd have probably chose Esau. He's probably a whole
lot more down-to-earth, just a good, hard-working hunter,
you know, just a go-getter. Jacob, have I loved? Esau, have I hated? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. Right there is where
the Lord said to Moses, I'll have mercy and compassion on
whom I'll have mercy and compassion. It's not of him that willeth,
not of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For
the Scripture sayeth unto Pharaoh what God sayeth to Pharaoh. Remember
who Pharaoh was? Pharaoh was the ruler in Egypt. Mighty, mighty man. God's choice, the people of Israel
were prisoners in Egypt, made bricks. God sent a preacher, told Moses,
he said, I want you to go back, go back into Egypt. You tell
Pharaoh that I said, let my people go. Lord, who shall I say sent
me? You tell him that I am, that
I am. sent you." Moses goes and he tells Pharaoh,
he says, the Lord said, to let his people go. And Pharaoh in
so many scriptures says this, who is the Lord that I should
obey him? Who is he? Now you think about
people that you know, that I know, that have not a heart for the
Lord Jesus Christ. in their heart, that's what they
say. Because if they had a heart to
bow to Him, it would be because God gave them a heart to bow
to, and they'd bow. They would be willing. They'd
be willing in the day of His power. But because they don't,
this is what they say in their heart. Who is the Lord that I
should serve Him? I can tell you from experience.
Neil, that was my heart, me by nature. I just didn't care. I just didn't care. And I'll
tell you something, you didn't either. Before Almighty God gave
you a heart, you didn't care either. You cared not for the
things of God. The Scripture saith unto Pharaoh,
that mighty ruler in Egypt, Pharaoh, big man, top dog, head honcho,
the man The Lord says, even for this same purpose. Have I raised
you up? I raised you up. I put you where
you are. Oh, you think that your mom and
daddy and their mom and daddy and their mom and daddy, you
think that you inherited this, that you were in the royal lineage. No, I made you what you are. I raised you up. I put you on
the throne. I did that. And this is the reason
I did that, that I might show my power in thee, and that my
name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath
he mercy," that's the next verse right here, "...on whom he will
have mercy, and on whom he will be hardened." God is sovereign. In the ages to come, He is going
to show his redeemed people to be trophies of his exceeding
richness in his marvelous grace. No man can charge God with being
unrighteous if he executes justice on one that is left to himself
to do exactly as he pleases, but shows mercy to one who in
himself deserves death but is pulled as a brand out of the
fire of his wrath. He is God. If you know him this
evening, you do so by grace, by sovereign, saving grace. Edom was left to himself. Esau did just exactly what he
wanted to do. every man does. You see, the
mercy of God is that God gives a man or a woman a new desire,
and then they do just exactly what they want to do. They come
to Christ. They call on Him. They come because
He has given them life. Coming to Christ by faith is
the evidence of life. Almighty God makes a man alive
and he believes. He comes, he sees, he's got to
be alive. And you had to be quick. You
were dead in the trespasses and sins. Almighty God saves His
people because He's pleased to do so.