Mark's Gospel chapter 4, and
we'll begin in verse 1. And the Lord began again to teach
by the seaside. And there was gathered unto Him
a great multitude, so that He entered into a ship and sat in
the sea. and the whole multitude was by
the sea on the land." Now that would be a good problem to have,
wouldn't it? A multitude. Like that. But listen to what
he says. And he taught them many things
by parables and said unto them in his doctrine, hearken, behold, there went out a sower
to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and
the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell
on stony ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately
it sprang up, but because it had no depth of earth, But when
the sun was up, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it
withered away. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang
up and increased, and brought forth some thirty, some sixty,
and some a hundred. And He said unto them, He that
hath ears to hear, led him here. And when he was alone, they that
were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And
he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery
of the kingdom of God. But unto them that are without,
all these things are done in parables. that seeing they may
see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand,
lest at any time they should be converted and their sins should
be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye
not this parable? And how then will ye know all
parables? Now this is a parable that is
very known by most everybody. But
in it, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us a sobering word. Most who hear the gospel of the
grace of God preached, even most that profess faith in Christ
after hearing the gospel, are unregenerate, lost, and perish
under the wrath of God. Now that's a sobering thought. That's a sobering thought. But
it's an encouragement for a believer in a couple of ways. Because
one, the Lord here encourages us. He instructs us to take heed. He instructs us to give ourselves
to the gospel, to know Christ the Lord, to make our calling
and election sure. And on the other hand, he gives
us encouragement as well to let us know that The Word of the
Lord doesn't return unto him void. It just does not return
unto him void. And we'll look at that a little
later towards the end, but let's go through this, this morning,
and let's look at the Lord's Word as He gives them the meaning
of this parable. Verse 14. The sower soweth the
Word. The sower is the servant of God. Christ Jesus the Lord is truly
the One who sows the Word. He, in another spot, puts Himself
in the parable and says it's the Son of Man who sows. And He truly is the One who sows
the Word. He sends forth His ambassadors
and they sow. But it's Christ who sows. His witnesses go forth and they
sow. But it's Christ who sows. Paul
said, who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers by
whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man. He said,
I've planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Well,
then he says that the seed is the word, it's the word of the
gospel of Christ. The gospel is concerning Jesus
Christ, the son of God. Now, this is the gospel. The
gospel is concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Lord Jesus
Christ said, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the law. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Jesus Christ is the way to the
Father. There's a way that seemeth right
unto man. Man's wisdom seems right unto
him. Man's look at himself or his look to himself and sees
some goodness in himself and it seems right unto him. Man
trusts in his will and that seems right to him. Man looks to his
works and that seems right to him. But there's a way which
seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways
of death. Jesus Christ the Lord, the Son
of God, is the way. No man, cometh unto the Father,
but by me." And Jesus Christ is the truth. Not only did he
teach the truth, not only did he preach the truth, he himself
is the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. Look with me over at John chapter
1. John chapter 1. John 1, verse 1. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was
life, and the life was the light of men. Look down at verse 14.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Look at verse 17. The law was
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him. He is the one who both declares
the truth and He Himself is the truth. That passage I just read
to you out of 1 Corinthians, I read to you because Paul said,
when I came to you, I came declaring the testimony of God, Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. That's the testimony of God.
What does God have to say? Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He's the truth. He's the way
and He's the truth. We worship God in truth when
we worship Christ Jesus the Lord in truth. Well, Jesus Christ
is the life. He's the way. He's the truth. And He's the life. He that hath
the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. It's just that Simple. He that
hath the Son hath life. Can it ever be taken from Him?
Never can be taken from Him. Can it ever be revoked for something
that we do? Can never be revoked. Is it eternal? It's as eternal as the Son is.
If we have the Son, we have life eternal because the Son's eternal
life. He's the way. No man can come
unto the Father but by Him. He's the truth. No man can come
unto the Father but by Him, and He's the life. No man can come
unto the Father but by Him. And so, in this Word, this Word
of God, the seed is sown. The Gospel of Christ, of Jesus
Christ, and through it, God gives life. God gives life through
the Gospel in the inner man and creates life like a seed goes
into the earth. and it springs forth and brings
forth life. Peter said, We're born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass
withereth, the flower thereof falleth away. That's what we
are. That's all we are. But the word of the Lord endureth
forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached
unto you. So, the sower is the servant
of the Lord. It's His ambassador, His witness
who goes forth and sows the Word, and the seed sown is the Word.
Now, first He says here to us, some here and they received the
Gospel as seed sown by the wayside. Look at Mark 4, verse 4. It came to pass as He sowed,
some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and
devoured it up. Verse 15, And these are they
by the wayside where the word is sown, that when they have
heard, Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that
was sown in their hearts. Why are you here this morning? Why are you here this morning? Do you have a concern for your
soul? Is it your chief desire to see the glory of God? Do you
have any thought that eternity is a breath away? Why are you here? Why am I here
this morning? The Lord Jesus Christ says that
some hear the Word. The Word is going forth right
now. They hear the Word with no concern about any of these
things. absolutely no concern about their
soul, about the glory of God, about eternity. They don't care
about Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, the One who made propitiation,
satisfactions for the sins of His people. They don't care about
God eternal, the eternal covenant of God that's yes and amen in
Christ Jesus the Lord. They don't care a thing in the
world about it. They hear the Word and just dismiss it. I pray Christ would make us like
Abraham. I pray He would make us like
Abraham. When the fowls came down upon the carcass, Abraham
fought them. He fought them away. I pray Christ
would make us like that. How easily we're turned aside. With no thought about these things.
These things are so important. It's so important. It's all that
is important. Well, some are described as stony
ground hearers. Look in verse 5, Mark 4, 5. Some fell on stony ground, where
it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang up, because it had
no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, it was
scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away. Verse
16 says, the Lord says, And these are they likewise which are sown
on stony ground, who, when they have heard the word, immediately
receive it with gladness, and have no root in themselves, and
so endure but for a time. Afterward, when affliction or
persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. Now, immediately some receive
this word with gladness. They're like a plant that just,
you seem like you just planted the seed yesterday and it just
springs right up. It just comes right up. I've
heard folks so often, they'll hear the gospel preach and get
excited. Get excited. There'll be tears. There'll be great words of agreement
with everything you said. They'll speak sometimes how they
can't wait to come back. or how they can't wait to hear
the gospel preached again, and they endure but a time. For a
time. But they have no root in themselves. They have no root in themselves,
the Lord said. There's no root in me or in you
by nature. The only root that's in us by
nature is the root of bitterness. That's the only thing that's
in us by nature. There's no true God-wrought conviction. There's
no God-given faith. There's no true repentance. Therefore, there's no commitment. No commitment. Affliction arises. Persecution arises for the Word's
sake. Remember what we saw this morning?
It's going to arise. If you claim to believe this
gospel, persecution is going to arise. And immediately, as
soon as they sprang up, immediately, just as fast as they received
the Word, they are offended. They are offended. The Lord said,
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. Not only
persecuted, but who endure it. who continue, who stay, persevere,
continue. It's a fight. The war doesn't end when you
first believe. When you start to believe the
gospel, the war just starts. The war between the flesh and
the spirit. The war between the new created
man and the world. The war between what we now are
by God's grace and what this world hates. And it's a warfare. It's a devastating warfare. And only the seed being implanted
in us, God's grace sustaining us and keeping us by Christ,
the incorruptible Word of God, is the only way we'll continue.
And without Him, we just won't. We just won't. And then next
we have here the thorny ground hearers. Verse 7. In his parable he said, Some
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it
yielded no fruit. Verse 18 tells us the meaning.
And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear
the word. And the cares of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things
entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. The
wayside hearer just doesn't have any interest whatsoever. No interest
in the gospel whatsoever. As soon as he hears it, Satan
comes and takes it away. Gone. The stony ground hearer
springs up real fast and withers away about as fast as he springs
up. But the thorny ground hearer is entirely different. Entirely
different. He hears the Word. At least with
the mind, with the natural mind, he's enlightened by it. And at
least with a carnal taste, he has a taste for it. And he goes
for a long while in religion. Everyone around him thinks he's
the genuine article, and he thinks it of himself. He's like the
Pharisee whose life appears thoroughly godly. He confesses his sin even. He cries tears like Esau in Judas. He gives like Ananias in Sapphira. He trembles at the Word like
Felix. He may preach. He may cast out devils. He may
do many wonderful works in the Lord's name. He may be held in
high esteem like Diotrephes. He may associate with men of
high regard like Demas. He might be as secure in his
own mind like the five carnal virgins. But the thorny ground
hearer says he agrees with Paul. when Paul says that Christ Jesus
is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no
man can approach. He'll say, I believe that's who
He is. He'll say, I believe that Paul
was exactly right when he said, no man speaking by the Spirit
of God calleth Jesus a curse, and no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. He's ever ready to proclaim the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ that no man can come unto me
except my Father which is in heaven draw him. He'll say, I agree with the words
of Christ Jesus when he said he must work the works of him
that sent him while it's day the night cometh when no man
can work. But I'll turn with you to Matthew
chapter 6. And here's the thorny ground
here's the problem right here. Matthew chapter 6. He doesn't believe the master
when the master says this. Verse 24. No man can serve two
masters for he For either he will hate the one and love the
other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon." Hold your place right there for
a moment. The Master said here when he started this parable,
he said, hearken, hearken. I'll tell you what, when I hear
this, when I consider this, When I'm studying this, I'm preparing
this myself, and I'm praying for the Lord to give me the word
to speak and to apply it however it needs to be applied into the
hearts of His people. And I read these things, I study
these things, and I look into these things. This makes me stop. It makes me stop. And it makes
me commune with my own heart. But I'll tell you what it makes
me do most. It makes me cast my care on the Lord and say,
Lord, make me to know. Make me to know
that I'm Yours. Lord, keep me. Keep me. Make me to behold Your goodness.
Make me to behold how wonderful you are. Make me to behold how
eternally secure I am in you. And make me to forsake everything. Make me to forsake everything. Because I see this in me. I see this in myself. Worldliness. Worldliness. The cares of this
world might be justifiable in your own mind. The running after
riches, material possessions, may seem to you as no real harm. The lust of other things, fame,
acceptance, position, power, sensuality, pleasure, They may
seem like they're yours for the taking, and you might not find
anything wrong with taking them. But the Lord says it's a briar
patch. I mean, it just doesn't get any
plainer, does it? Our Lord spoke these words in
the plainest language. And the plainer he spoke this
language to that great multitude, the more confused most of them
were that heard it. I just don't understand what
he's talking about. The Master says, these things
don't do anything but choke the word, and the thorny ground hearer
becometh unfruitful. Unfruitful. He said, if any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. I think about Jesse leaving,
you're going to college. It won't be long, Carol will
be right behind you, AJ's, he's leading the way, he's already
gone. Robert will be, it won't be no time, Robert. You'll be,
I'll be getting an invitation from you. You'll be wanting a
present. but I'll tell you what the saddest
thing the saddest thing would be for you to go go there
because your parents want you to get an education they want
you to have a comfortable living, they want you to have a good
job, they want the best for you. That you see those things, those
worldly pursuits, making a name for yourself, trying to climb
as high as you can climb in this world. I read somewhere where
they said that they polled some kids and did a poll and they
asked them, what is something that you admire in your father
that you think is what every child ought to grow up to be.
And the children talked about the size of the house, the kind
of car they drove, and how much they got to go to sporting events. And that was predominant across
the board. That was what the children admired
the most. Why not? Isn't that what we teach
them? Isn't that exactly what we teach them? Oh, but if you
just hear what the Lord is saying, hear what the Master is saying,
it is absolutely, absolutely impossible to try to serve this
world. And that's exactly what men do
when they try to go after riches. and worldly lusts, and these
things that he mentions here. Brethren, that's exactly what
we're doing. We're trying to serve the world
when we're living for these things. Now, when you start living for
these things, they'll be good at first. And then you'll get
a taste of them. And you'll want some more of
them. And you'll get some more of them. And you'll want more
of them. And when you've got them all,
You still hadn't got enough. It hadn't satisfied you. It has
not brought you to a place where you're satisfied. But what the
Lord says it has done is, is it's completely choked, choked
you out. Choked you completely out. I was talking with a friend yesterday,
and we were talking about some of the things that's been in
the news lately. And this friend of mine, he's a songwriter, and
we were talking about a friend that we have. It's a mutual friend
who's an artist, a recording artist. He sings, and he's done
really well. And he's just telling me about
all the toys he has and all the things he has. He said his housekeepers
have assistants. His housekeepers have housekeepers. If he wants something, he just
goes out and gets it. But he just cannot, my friend,
just cannot be satisfied. He's not satisfied. When he's
not hearing the applause of men, he's miserable, absolutely miserable. But you know, I thought about,
I thought when you get in that spot, pride won't let you get out of
it. You're choked. Pride won't let you get out of
that. Unless God delivers you, there's no hope. Absolutely no
hope. Because you can't get, you got
too much invested. You can't get away from it. Well, look over at Matthew 6,
back over there with me. I want you to listen to this.
Matthew 6 25 and I spent a little more time here because this this
seems to be where we are in our day In this world so much Matthew
6 25 listen to this Therefore I say unto you take no thought
for your life Some master speaking. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking if anybody's gonna tell you the truth This is who's gonna
tell you the truth right here Take no thought for your life,
what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your
body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat
in the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air.
They sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better
than they? Which of you, by taking thought,
can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They twirl not,
neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that
even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which
to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought
saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal
shall we be clothed? Those are the things the world
seeks after. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of all these things. That's all I need to know. That's
all I need to know, that my heavenly Father knows I have need of these
things. Let me, I'm gonna just ask one
of you kids. I mean, Sarah, let me ask you
this. Don't be like Will, you don't have to answer. This is
just a rhetorical question. Your mom and dad, your mom and
dad provide for you. And do you worry about that? You don't get up in the morning
fretting and worrying and running all over the house trying to
figure out what am I going to do today for food and for clothing and
all those things, do you? Because you know your daddy's
going to provide them, don't you? That's all we need to know. Do you believe that? You believe God? He said, I know
you have need of these things. I'll provide them. If we go after
them anyway, we're saying, I don't believe you'll provide them for
me. I tell you, if your father saw you get up in the morning
and go around like you don't trust him, like you think you've
got to feed yourself, he'd set you down. Say, now wait a minute,
I'm the head of this house, I'm feeding you, don't you worry
about it. Trust me. That's what our Lord said. Now
look here, verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom
of God. in His righteousness. And all
these things shall be added unto you. When you need them, He knows
what you need, when you need it, how you need it, how much
you need and how little you need, when you need it be taken away
from you. Those other things will be taken
care of. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God. That means seek
Him all the time. Seek His righteousness. Christ
Jesus the Lord is the righteousness of God. The righteousness of
God is manifest in Him. He justified His people. He justified
God in justifying His people. He's just in the justified. The
righteousness of God is in Him. Seek His righteousness and seek
that which He says is right. Look at verse 34. Take therefore
no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. Isn't there enough evil today
without worry about tomorrow? There's enough today that you
is totally absolutely utterly out of my hands and yours Right
now here today to be worried about what's totally absolutely
outside of our hands tomorrow He said Seek me seek my face
and trust me. I know what my children have
made up and I'll provide it We either believe him or we don't
That's why the Lord said you can't serve two masters You either
believe Him and serve Him and trust Him or you don't. That's
just how it is. You say, I'll be my own provider.
I'll provide my own righteousness. I'll provide my own. And if you
go after these worldly things, I guarantee you, you'll also
think you've provided your own righteousness. You'll think you've
worked out a righteousness for yourself. You'll think you've
provided everything else for yourself too. I guarantee you. And the sad thing about the thorny
ground hearer is, is he don't know. He don't have one clue
where he's at, the condition that he is in, until he wakes
up one day and hears the Lord Jesus Christ say, depart from
me. Everything that you've ever done
has been nothing but works of iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew you. And that's
a sad case. But, back in our text, that's
not where it ends. Look back here with me. But out of these four, we find
this next one, the true believer who receives the gospel in good
ground. Look at Mark 4, verse 20. These
are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the word
and receive it and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some
sixty, some a hundred. This good ground This good ground
is the heart that's prepared by God the Holy Spirit. It's
a regenerate heart. It's a new heart. It's a pure
heart. It's a heart where that sharp,
sharp plow of God's law has tilled deep, deep, deep to the very
stony ground of our heart and it's bursted asunder. This is
that That gospel that has come forth and it's broken up the
ground. It's broken up our ground and
broken it into pieces. And the thunderings and the lightnings
of God's wrath upon us has brought us into conviction before God
Almighty. The ground has been prepared
by God. The stones have been taken out. The stony heart's
been taken out. And a heart of flesh has been
put in. The ground's been prepared by God. And then the Lord says
this. I love this over and you can
turn here with me if you'd like. Deuteronomy 32. I thought this
was just so appropriate here. This is the Lord God speaking
through Moses. Moses is given this song. Listen
to this and I thought this is just after he's broken the ground
and he's cut deep and he's beating the clods of our vain confidence
into pieces, and he's taken out all the stones out of the field,
and he's given us this heart of flesh. Look now, verse 2.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain. You need rain. If crops gonna come forth, seeds
gonna come forth, gotta have rain. My doctrine. Oh, they preach too much doctrine
down there. Well, he said, my doctrine shall drop as the rain. My speech, that's what his doctrine
is, his speech, shall distill as the dew, as the small rain
upon the tender earth, as the showers upon the grass, because
I'll publish the name of the Lord. What else you going to publish?
Nothing else to publish. I'll publish the name of the
Lord. Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He's the rock. He's the rock. You know that
the word rock is used 18 times throughout the Old Testament.
18 times it's used. And when the Lord said to Peter,
on this rock I'll build my church, He wasn't talking about Peter.
He's talking about Himself. He's the rock. All other ground's
sinking sand. It may appear as though you've
got some stability, but it's all seeking sand. He's the rock. And his work is perfect. It's
perfect. It's perfection. Everything about
his work is perfection. No flaw in it. It's perfection.
All his ways are judgment. That means they're right. and
they're true. He's a God of truth and without
iniquity. There's no hypocrisy in what
He says or what He does. What our Lord spoke when He stood
there to that multitude. No hypocrisy in it. No iniquity
in what He said. Everything that He says is true. He's just and He's right. And
the believer hears the Word. And he receives it by God's grace. And it brings forth fruit. It
brings forth fruit. He believes God. He turns from
his way and believes God. It brings forth fruit. He delights
to ascribe greatness to God. He believes God is my rock. His
work is perfect. I trust that He knows me and
knows everything I need and I'm going to heed His instruction
and follow after Him first in everything I do. Continually,
always. Lord, keep me following you continually,
always. It brings forth fruit. Some it
brings forth thirty-fold. Some it brings forth sixty. Some
it brings forth a hundred. It brings forth different fruit,
and different measures, and different ones. But it always brings forth
fruit. It always brings forth fruit.
And the fruit of the Spirit is love. joy and peace and long-suffering
in gentleness and goodness and faith and meekness and temperance
And God says against those things against the fruit that I grow
Against the fruit that I the product of my husbandry. He said
there's no law against any of that Not any law against it Because
it's right and it's true and it's perfect and it's the fruit
he produces Now, I said to you brethren that this parable is
to you who are being taught by the Master right now in your
heart. And I'll give you two things to take home. Here's the
first one. Hearken. Take heed. Hold fast
this gospel. Hold it fast. I like this back
up there in Mark 4.13. He said unto them, Know ye not
this parable? How then will ye know all parables?
I mean, it's simple. It was so simple. Think there
was any worldliness in his people? Think there was any of these
descriptions applied to his disciples? All of them. But did he upbraid
them? Did he turn them away? Did he? No. He said, how are you going
to know? This is so simple now. How are
you going to know unless you got to know? I got some more
things to say to you that's a lot deeper than this, that goes a
lot stronger meat than this. If you can't get this, how are
you going to know that? If you're not giving yourself to learn
of this, how are you going to know that? How are we going to know? Look at verse 10. When he was
alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked him. They just came and asked him.
How about that? How about we do that? You should
go ask Him. You should go ask Him. He answered them, didn't He?
He said, unto you it's given to know the mystery. The Gospels taught the heart
of the sinner by Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit just
as real, just as effectually as it was here when He spoke
to them. Just as real. There's no bounds between Christ
and His people. None. He's conquered the bounds. He made his people draw nigh
to him. Just go ask him. And abide in him. He said, abide
in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except
it abide in the vine. No more can you except you abide
in me. I'm the vine, you're the branches. He that abideth in
me, and I am in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For
without me ye can do nothing." Now here's the second thing.
This parable is an encouragement because we're going to see, and
this is an encouragement to me, because you see folks go absolutely
unaffected. Just water off a duck's back. We'll see some who will hear
the gospel preached and they'll rise up immediately. And immediately
they'll wither. I thought about this this week.
I thought, you know, the hardest, most difficult heartbreak, I
think, would be to preach the gospel to somebody for a number
of years and to be so confident in their testimony to trust that
they truly know the Lord and for one day to find out they
didn't know anything all along. That'd be heart-wrenching. It'd
be heart-wrenching. I think it would be worse than
losing a loved one that died. I really think it would be. And
it'll probably happen. I pray it don't happen to any
of you that I'm talking to. I pray for that. I told you that
this brings me to pray for myself and it brings me to pray for
you. I pray that don't happen. But if it does happen, here's
what we know, brethren. God's word hasn't returned to
him void. It's accomplished exactly what
he sent it forth to accomplish. It fulfilled the purpose that
He preordained for it to accomplish before the foundation of the
world. And we have to just rest right there. I'll get you to
turn over to Isaiah 55.10. Isaiah 55.10. You notice that these ones that
didn't believe, brethren, they didn't believe because they didn't
want to believe. If a man perishes, it's going to be our will never
to come to Christ, never to receive these things, never to hear it,
never to heed this instruction. It's going to be our fault if
we perish. If we come to Him, it's all together by God's irresistible
grace. No man wants to come to Him.
No man's willing to come to Him. But if we come, it's going to
be by His grace bringing us to Him. That's what we see in the
fact that men won't come to Him. But if we see any fall away or
go unaffected by these things, listen to this word, Isaiah 55,
10. As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven And returneth
not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
in bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the
eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth.
It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I send it. Now here is his primary purpose
in sending forth this word. Ye shall go out with joy, and
be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall
break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorns shall come
up the fir tree, instead of the briars shall come up the myrtle
tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting
sign that shall not be cut off." That gives me encouragement.
That gives me encouragement. You know, I was going through
these today, this morning looking over my notes again, and I thought,
is this going to be comforting to the Lord's people? But as I went and I began to
see, I thought, this is comfort. The Lord wouldn't have said this
if it wasn't comfort for the saints. This is comfort for the
saints. Well, this is the doctrine of
the master. And he says, hearken, hearken. And he that hath an ear, let
him hear. All right, Eric.