And the title of the message
is, The Great Call of God to Israel. The Great Call of God
to Israel. Verse 1 says, O Israel, return
unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Now, my purpose here this morning
is to testify, to preach to you of this great calling. The calling
of God to Israel. Israel, God says, return unto
the Lord thy God. This Israel, who is God calling? And that's my first thing I want
to does for us to see here. Who is God calling? Israel. What is He calling them? For, he said, for thou hast fallen. There's obviously then a great
fall. He's calling them to return to
the Lord because they had fallen by their own iniquity. And then in verse 2, he tells
us how that they should come. How they should return unto the
Lord. Take you words. And turn to the
Lord, saying to Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us
graciously. So will we render the calves
of our lips. And then you see the blessed
response of our Lord to those who desire to come. All who want
to come, but fear to come. Here he says in verse 4, he gives
them assurances. I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely. For
mine anger is turned away from Him. I will be as the dew of
Israel. And then he tells us what's going to happen to those
who come to him. He shall grow as a lily, cast
forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and
his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall revive
as corn, they shall grow as the vine, and the scent thereof shall
be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, What have
I to do any more with idols? i've heard him and observed him
i am like a green tree from heat from me is that fruit and then
he ends with the question who is wise and who shall understand
these things you know who's wise those who hear the call of god
and obey and who are those that do not pay they shall fall god
says by their own transgression And so let's begin here with
this call, Israel. Oh, Israel. Now, in the book of Hosea. In
the book of Hosea, we are told that the prophet was called of
God to take a woman of Hortums. A woman of Hortums, and to marry
her, because he was to use this as a picture, a type of his people. This Hore, Gomer, is a picture
of Israel, of his people. He said that in verse 2 of chapter
1. He said, In the beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea,
the Lord said unto Hosea, Go and take thee a wife of whoredoms,
and children of whoredoms. This is it. For the land hath
committed whoredoms. And what was the whoredoms that
they committed? It wasn't physical adultery. What it was, was a
spiritual whoredom. They had left God for false gods. They had left the worship of
God for false gods. You consider what God had did
for that nation. How God delivered them time and
time again. How God chose them to be His
people. How He had His very presence and worship established in their
midst. And yet, what did they do to
God? They constantly forsook God. They constantly forsook Him. Now, what I want you to see about
Israel is not just national Israel. This Israel that God is calling
is not just national Israel. It is spiritual. Remember, the
Apostle said this about Israel. He said, not all those that are
of the seed of Abraham are children of God. Children of God. Not
all Israel is of Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they children. You see, this spiritual Israel
are the elect of God, the chosen of God before the foundation
of the world. These are the ones God loved
and purposed to be heirs of promise. And this is the purpose of God
for the elect. that we should know no other
God but Him. Isn't that what he tells us in,
look at this, in verse 2 of chapter 13. He tells, he says Ephraim,
he says, Now they sin more and more, and have made molten images
of their silver and idols according to their own understanding, all
of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, Let the men
sacrifice and kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as a
morning cloud, as an early dew that passeth away, as the chaff
driven away by the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the
smoke out of the chimney. Yet I am the Lord thy God from
the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no God but Me, for there
is no Savior beside Me." See, God's purpose here for His elect
is to know this, that God is God. that God is the only Savior
for sinners. That's what God has purposed
for His people, Israel. Now, it is this morning my heart's
desire to testify to you of this Savior. He says there is no Savior
beside me. There is no Savior. Do you realize
how bigoted that is? How narrow that is? There is
only one Savior. One Savior. In all the world,
in all of time, in the universe, there is only one Savior. Who
is He? He is God. He is God. And this Savior that we are talking
about this morning is the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Now, with us keeping this in
mind, that this nation, this people that He is calling, are
the people of God spiritually. Let us see how the wickedness
of Israel was, how vile and rebellious they are, how foolish and spiteful
they were, that they even neglected the God that brought them out
of the land of Egypt. They forsook Him. So God promised,
what did God promise on them? He promised this, that all their
gods shall be as nothing. All their vain religion shall
be..." He said, "...therefore they shall be as the morning
cloud." He's talking about their gods. Their gods are going to
be nothing for them. They're not going to help them.
They're going to be there for the moment and they'll disappear.
Where are their gods that they made? Where are those molten
images? They're gone. They're gone like the wind, like
the chaff that the wind drives away. They're nothing. And He
promised this. to all who worship those false
gods. He says, I'm going to bring wrath
on you. I'm going to bring my wrath upon
you. Well listen, even so does God promise the reward of rebellion
against him who have sinned against God, who have no acceptable sacrifice
or perfect righteousness. Listen, God will judge every
man according to his work. And the reward of sin is this,
eternal death. That is the reward of sin. Death. Look at verse 5 and 13,
chapter 13. He said, I did know thee in the
wilderness in the land of great drought. According to their pasture,
so they were filled. They were filled and their hearts
were exalted. Therefore, they have forgotten
me. Here God shows His goodness to
these people. He supplied all their needs,
didn't He, in that wasteland out there. He supplied everything
they had need of. He even made them prosperous. But yet what did they do? They
forgot Him. They rejected God. And look what God says to all
who have forgotten Him. Verse 7, Therefore I will be
unto them as a lion, as a leopard, By the way, will I observe them? In other words, God is as a lion
and leopard stalking His prey. He is observing everything. You
realize that no sin is hidden from God? You can hide it from
men, but you can't hide it from God. God is as a leopard and
a lion. He is observing men and counting
their sins, marking them up. And this is what will happen.
He says, I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her
whelps and will rend the cull of their heart. That word means
the treasure of their heart. Everything they've treasured
up, everything they've fought to trust in for all of their
life and eternity, God says, I'll take it. I'll take it from
their very breast. I'll tear them to pieces as a
bear and as a lion will I devour them. God promises wrath to all who will not turn to Him. Now listen, is this not cause
to hear the call of God? God says to Israel, return unto
me. Why? Because of wrath. You realize people don't like
to hear that very much about the wrath of God, do they? Oh,
don't tell me about wrath. Listen, if there's no wrath,
there's no reason to come to Christ, is there? There's no
reason you need shelter. There's no reason you need a
haven if there's no wrath. But I tell you, there is wrath
to come. God said He would do it. God
promised it. Well, so then how? How then will
a man come? I tell you today of the only
way. The only way by which a man may
receive mercy from God. And that is by the Son of God. The great person The God-man
mediator who alone by his sacrifice and righteousness may commend
us to God. And all who repent and all who
believe on him shall be forever pardoned, forgiven of all their
sins, and the wrath of God shall not touch them. This is the promise
of hope. God says this, I'm coming in
wrath. I'm coming in wrath to who? All
those who've searched other gods. All those who believe in another
god and have not come to my Son. Who have not believed on my Son.
This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in wrath. But
here, look in our text and you can see the grace and compassion
of God. He is calling people. Calling people to himself this
morning you listen. God is calling you to him God
says it. Oh Israel come Come return unto
me why for thou has fallen by the iniquity and listen. What
is the what is the reward of iniquity its eternal death God
says turn unto me or die and Turn unto me because you've sinned,
because of your iniquity. Turn unto me. Now then, I want
to divide this into four divisions. This chapter. Into four divisions. First of all, I want us to see
this great call. What is this great call of God?
The great call of God. Second, I want to see something
about the great fall of man. the great fall of man and thirdly
I want us to see the great assurance of God to all who come to all
who desire to come there are great assurances God gives in
this chapter and the fourth thing is the great effect of all who
come so first of all the great call let's look at this O Israel
return unto the Lord thy God And let us remark this, that
God here is not calling everyone. You get that? Who is He calling? Israel. Israel. Return. Israel, come. Not everyone, but only Israel. And as I've just said, that is
a picture of His elect. God is calling His elect. That's what God is doing. He's
calling His elect. And now let us see that the Lord
Jesus Christ, and I want you to understand this, this morning
I'm calling you to come. Every one of you. Regardless
of who you are, where you've been, I'm calling you to come. Why? Because this is my commission.
This is what God has given us to do as believers. We who have
come, God has given us a commission to go out and to call all men
to preach the gospel. This is how we call. He commands
His servants, go you into all the world and preach the gospel. To who? Every creature. Every creature. In this religious generation
there are many churches and many preachers preaching many things. But I want you to pay attention
to this. There's only one gospel. There's only one message God
commands his people to preach. Go you into all the world and
preach what? The gospel. The gospel. Singular. There is
only one gospel that we are to preach. Because there is only
one Christ, we are to preach. There is only one perfect work
of salvation for all the elect of God. Paul says this in Galatians. He said, I marvel that you are
so removed from Him who called you. unto the grace of Christ,
unto another gospel. Listen, which is not another?
There's not another. There's only one gospel. But
some would trouble you, and they pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we are an angel from heaven preaching another gospel,
and that which we have preached, let them be accursed. Let them be accursed. Why? Because
there's not another gospel. There's only one. One gospel. That is the salvation of God
by grace through faith in the perfect work of Christ alone
without, listen, without the merits of men. You know this is a simple litmus
test. To know if you're preaching the
truth. Is salvation completely by the grace of God or is the
works of man? Simple. Because you can't mix
these two. You can't combine these two like
the world is trying to do. They say, oh, I believe in a
salvation by grace. But you have to do your part. No, your preaching works. That's
not grace. Grace is completely unmerited
favor. There was no merit on the part
of those who receive it, those who have it. It is by the free
grace of God. And we even recognize this, that
our faith is a gift of God. That our faith is not even of
ourselves. This is what men in the lost
religious world think, is that salvation is by grace through
faith, and yet faith is of self. is of will, is of volition. If
I just will it, I can believe. No. Faith is a gift of God, not
of works. Why? Lest any man should boast. So it's simple. Is salvation
of grace or is it of works? We know this. It's of grace.
And this is our commission to preach the gospel of grace in
Christ. Salvation is to all who believe
on Him. You realize that? I preach that
message. I preach whosoever will, don't you? You bet. I believe God saves whosoever
will. I just don't believe he saves
whosoever won't. He didn't come to save them. He came to save
the lost. In Romans 10 and verse 13 it
says whosoever believes, I mean whosoever, I don't want to misquote
it, I'll just go ahead and read it. Whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth
on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Yet I know this for sure too.
Not every one of you believe it. Not everybody believes this message.
Some believe it and some don't. Isaiah said, Who hath believed
our report? And to whom is the armor of the Lord revealed? And
even as I preach to you, Jesus the Son of God, the only Savior
for sinners, some of you will believe and some won't. Therefore
I am a saver of life unto life to some and a saver of death
unto death to others. Now I tell you that Jesus Christ
came to seek and to save the lost. I tell you that He who is God,
very God, condescended to become man, very man. I tell you that
He, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation,
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. That's my message. Christ! Christ! Christ! Believe on Christ! Trust in Christ! I call you to
believe on Christ now! Not tomorrow, now! Trust Him
now! I tell you this, He's the only
one ever pleased God and He's the only one ever will. The only way for you to please
God is in Him. It's the only way. We will never please God
in any other way. He's the only one that merited
the praise of God, isn't He? This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. And He came then to provide the
righteousness of God for all His elect. He came to merit the
righteousness of God by Himself in the stead of His people. He came as a representative man
so as to provide righteousness In Romans chapter 3 and verse
21 it says, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. Being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by the faith
of Jesus Christ. You see how righteousness comes?
Righteousness comes by Jesus Christ. Not by works, not by
will, not by merits of your own, but by Christ alone. That's how righteousness comes.
That's how it was made. But he didn't only do that, did
he? When he came into the world, he didn't only provide righteousness.
What did he do? He also obtained redemption for
our sins. He came and he bore our sins
in his own body on the tree. Isn't this what he told us he
would do? He said, I lay down my life. For who? The sheep. The sheep. "...And
I give unto them..." Who? The sheep. "...eternal life,
and they shall never perish." I like this in Isaiah 53. He
said, "...we, like sheep, have gone astray, turned everyone
to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all." Well, who's the all? Everyone? No. Verse 8, he said,
The transgression, because of the transgression of my people,
was he stricken. You see, Jesus Christ came to
provide righteousness and atonement, redemption, for those that the
Father gave him. And where is he now? Where is
Christ now? He is seated on the throne of
God. He is raised from the dead. Having accomplished redemption,
having obtained righteousness, our Savior is now ascended to
the throne of glory where He sits right now ruling over all
things. All things. Did you get that?
He is ruling over all things. There's nothing that happens
in time and eternity without His direct will for it to happen. And what is His will? What is
He doing up there? What is He doing in heaven? You
seem confused sometimes. I feel confused how things are
going out. You think something's going this
way and all of a sudden it goes the other way. What's going on?
God, He doesn't leave you without understanding, telling you what
He's going to do. He said that in John. Go to John 17. I want
you to see something about this. John 17. This is the gospel we're
preaching. This is the gospel we've been
sent to preach. John 17. Jesus tells us what He's going
to do and why He's been given power over all things. Look at
verse 2. He said, I've glorified you, now glorify me. And listen
to what he's going to do. Verse 2, he says, As thou hast
given him power over all flesh, here's his reason, that he should
give eternal life. Isn't that good? I know that's where the world
wants to stop, isn't it? Give eternal life. Jesus wants
to give you eternal life if you just let Him. No. To give eternal
life to who? as many as thou hast given Him." Who is He calling today? I'm calling everybody, because
I don't know who Israel is. But He is calling Israel. He's
calling His people. And we know this about Christ.
that Christ will manifest his name only to the elect. Look at this in verse 6. Look at verse 6 of chapter 17
of John. He said, I have manifested thy
name, listen, unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.
Who is he manifesting himself? To those the Father gave him.
That's who he's manifesting his name to. Now we know this, that
Jesus Christ is the High Priest and Intercessor only for those
that the Father gave Him. Look at verse 9. He said this,
I pray not for them, I pray for them that they gave
Me, I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast
given Me, for they are Thine. And we know that Christ, all
who Christ has been given, they will believe. I know this. Without a doubt. Why? Look at
verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them which shall believe on me through their word. Any
question as to who's coming? Any question as to who this call
is intended for? It's intended for the elect.
It's intended for the elect. Israel. We know the Father hath chosen
Israel, and the Son hath redeemed Israel, and now the Spirit of
God has come to call Israel, O Israel, return unto the Lord
thy God. I call all of you to repent and
believe on Christ, but you know God calls very specific people. Well, how do I know my standing
then before God? Am I of Israel? That's important. And if God's only going to call
Israel, if Christ's redeeming Israel, if only Israel are going
to come, I need to know. Is that me? Is He calling me?
Well, He gives us an indication in that verse. Go back to your
text. Look at that. He gives you an indication as
to who Israel is. Look at this mark. Return. unto the Lord thy God,
for thou, Israel, hast fallen by thine iniquity." You want
to know if God's calling you, then you got to know something
about the fall. You got to know something about
your condition. If God is ever going to call
you to Christ to believe on Him, you must understand who you are. That's the second thing, a great
fall. Notice the first mark of Israel is, they are fallen. For
thou hast fallen by thine iniquities. Here is the true condition of
us all by nature. All men by nature have fallen.
When we were created in Adam, Adam was created upright. He
didn't have any sorrow or sin. He had fellowship with God. But
what happened when he fell, when he sinned? What happened? Did he bruise himself? because
that's what men would have you believe that's what men are preaching
don't make no mistake about it that lie is still being perpetuated
that he just bruised himself and that you know God needs you
to help you a little bit so he sent Christ to provide some things
for you so that you would be then more amiable to submit to
him man still had some will left some life left that's not what
the word of God says and you hath he quickened who were Dead
in trespasses and sins. Let me tell you something about
Israel. They know something about spiritual
death. If God is ever going to call you, He's going to call
the dead. You realize that? If you have some life in you,
He's not calling you. He calls the dead to life. That's
what God does. Israel, by nature, is born dead. Dead in trespasses and sins. Not bruised. Dead. Now God, man being dead, yet
does that nullify God's right to command? And people say, well
if I'm dead then how could God have any right to call me? God
has all the right in the world to call you, command of you. He did not lose his right to
rule because you lost your ability to follow it. God commands you
to repent and yet man is dead. He commands you to repent. And
yet you being this fallen race of Adam, you should repent. Isn't that right? You should
follow God. You should believe on Christ.
But because of the fall, because of the spiritual death of man,
man's will and affections and heart are bound up by sin and
are so corrupt he will not and cannot come to God. This is the condition of Israel.
This is the condition of man by nature, but specifically Israel. Behold the greatness of the fall. Jesus said this, I am the bread
of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. He's talking about faith in Him.
Believe on Me. Believe on Me. Believe on Me.
Believe on Me. I'm the bread of life. I'm the
manna that came down from heaven. I am the righteousness. I am
the life. I'm everything. Believe on Me.
And what He said, you've seen Me, but you've not believed.
But was Christ discouraged? No. He said, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the will of him that sent me, that of all he had given
me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last
day. You know what they did? They murmured. You know when people
hear of election and sovereign grace, you know what they do?
They murmur. They complain. You know, Jesus said, Why are
you murmuring? Does their murmuring change the
truth? Does any murmuring change the truth about this? No. Let
them murmur. You murmur. You say, why are you murmuring?
Why are you complaining? That's not going to change anything.
Listen. No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent
me draw him. No man can. This is the great fall of man,
is that man lost the will and the ability to come to God, the
ability to please God. to obtain righteousness or merit
or favor with God. Man has fallen so far that he
cannot even do the simplest of things. Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be saved. That's how far man has fallen.
He's died. He's dead. Are you such a sinner
as this? Now listen, I want you to understand
this. If you are then there's hope. Because these are the ones God's
calling. These are the ones God calls. If you've got some place
to go, you'll go. If you've got some other refuge
to run to, you'll run. But if you've got nowhere else
to go, you'll go to Christ. That's the way it is. God shows
Israel, first of all, their fall. If you don't have a need of Christ,
you'll never come to Christ. Now you pay attention, I'm a
sinner such as this. I know something about my depravity. I know something of what it is
to rebel against such a gracious God. I have a small understanding
of how great my fall was. How then could one so fallen
come to God? Well look, God doesn't even leave
you with any room to have an opinion. Look at that. He tells you how to come. Look
at your text. He says how. Take with you words. Not your words. Remember, your
words are no good. Your words are fallen. Don't
take your opinions to God. Take with you words. Whose word?
God's word. You see, the only authority I
have to come to God is God said, come. Did God say come? Did He tell you to seek the Lord
while He may be found? Call on Him while He is near?
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts,
and let him..." What? "...return to the Lord." I'm
going to return because I'm taking the Word that God has back to
God. God, You said turn. I'm turning
because You said turn. I'm taking with me words. Not
mine. His. Take with you words. And what's
the most important word we take? Take away all iniquity. Isn't that the first thing we
need? Isn't that the first thing Israel needs when he hears this
call to return? He understands what separates
him from God is sin. So what do we need in order to
have reconciliation is sin must be removed. It has to be put
away. It has to be satisfied. Justice
has to be satisfied. How can this be? Except by the
blood of Jesus Christ. This is how you come. You come
by the blood. You come by the offering of Christ
alone. I come on the merits and grounds
of the blood of the Son of God. That's how I come. Why? Because
that's the only place to take away sin. The only thing that
took away sin is the blood of Christ. Therefore I tell you, you should
come to Christ now. And you who have come, you should
come to Christ now. Isn't this still our call? If
you're Israel, isn't this your call still? Return unto me. Return
unto me. Return unto me. Take with you
words. What words? Forgive me of my
sins. Take away my sins. If we confess our sins, what?
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Little children,
sin not, but when you sin. It's not a matter of if, it's
just a matter of when. When you sin, Remember, you have an advocate
with the Father Jesus Christ, the righteous. Come unto Him.
We come unto Him. Without merit, we come. And listen
to what He said. He said, how should we come?
How should He take away sins? Listen, and receive us graciously. You see, a true sinner in need
of Christ will always come seeking grace. Never merit. Israel always comes taking the
Word of God by the blood of Christ, seeking to receive it only on
the grounds of free, sovereign grace. That's it. We come seeking
only to be found in the gracious merits of God, which can't be
mixed with works. Ever. Ever. You realize I'm only
going to be received through the gracious work of Christ. And all who come to Christ will
do exactly what the scripture here says. We will render the
calves of our lips. Asher, that's a false god, shall
not save us. We will not ride on horses. We're
not going to depend on our strength of the flesh to bring us to God. We will not say any more to the
work of our hands, you are our gods, for in thee the fatherless
find mercy. Is that your desire to come,
to be received graciously by the blood of Christ? Then God
gives all comers assurance. This is the third thing, a great
assurance. Look at verse 4. He gives us this, I will heal
their backsliding. Listen, you come to God, listen,
He's going to heal you. Without question. He said, I
will. Is He willing? He said, I will. You're a liar, He's not. Is He
a liar? No. He said, I'll heal you. You
come, I'll heal you. I'll heal all your sins. I'll
put them all away. I like that leper who came, Lord,
if thou wilt, thou canst. And what did he say? I will. I will. So everyone that comes,
he says, I will heal all your backslidings. Listen, and I will
love you freely. Isn't that something? I'll love
you freely, without merit ever. You don't ever merit my love.
Matter of fact, I've loved you from eternity. I've loved you
before the world was. He said, I have loved thee with
an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. And listen, his love, this free
love, is immutable. He said, I'm the Lord, I change
not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. He loves us
freely, all who come to God by Christ. And what did Paul say
about this love? He said, who shall separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ? Nothing. Nothing shall
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ. And listen for this next thing
that God says about that He will do for us. He said, I will be
the dew unto Israel. You know what that is? Refreshment. Believer of you not, when you
come to Christ Israel, is that not so that you've received refreshment? We live in such a barren wilderness. Listen what He likens you to.
Look at your text. He says this, He shall grow as
a lily, You know how tender... I think
I've bought those before and they... man, they just... I can't
keep them alive. I just can't do it. They're tender. They're beautiful. They're tender. Isn't that how we are in this
barren wilderness? We often want to shrivel up.
What did He say? I'm the refreshment. I'm the
one that keeps you beautiful and fresh. I'm the one that constantly
cleanses you of all your sins. Daily cleansing you. Daily washing
you. And what is this in the effect?
He says this, you will grow. Grow as a lily and cast forth
the roots as Lebanon. Now, look, on the surface, believers
seem fragile. Isn't that right? We feel fragile. We feel like we're on the brink
of losing everything all the time. Listen, that's how it appears
on the surface, but what's underneath are the roots of Lebanon. He's
talking about those big, huge cedars of Lebanon whose roots
run so deep. You know, I think if the roots
of Lebanon would hold those big trees, it would hold a lily. What is our root? It's Christ. We're rooted in Christ. And for us, this lily to wither,
Christ would have to die. And that's not going to happen.
It's not going to happen. We're rooted. This is the effect. This is the last thing. It's
the effect. It's that we're going to have life. We're going to
grow as a lily in the desert. Isn't that something? You see
the desert and all of a sudden you see a flower in the middle.
It just seems out of place, doesn't it? Don't we seem out of place?
We just seem out of place here. A lily in the desert? No. Yeah. God says, I'm going to
give life in a barren wilderness. I'm going to make that root run
deep and the sun and all its punishment on that poor flower
will never make it fade. Why? We are, Christ is the vine
and we are the branches and we are in union with Him. That's
why you won't fade. This is what the effect is of,
it's life. Isn't that the effect of this
call? Always? Now the effect of my call is not always life,
is it? But the effect of God's call
is always life. It's effectual. His call is always
effectual. It gets the job done. Every time
God calls somebody, they come. God says, Oh Israel, return unto
Me. And you know what Israel does?
They return unto Him. Just like Lazarus in that tomb.
Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus came forth. Bound
hand and foot. I don't know how that happened
to you. That's just amazing. He must have floated on out there.
I don't know how I came to Christ, do you? I don't know how I came. I just came. I was there. Before
I knew what happened, I was believing. That's what happens. This is
the effect of the call. There's always life and faith
in Christ. And we are rooted and built up
and grounded in this faith. And listen, verse 7, they that
dwell under his shadow shall return, they shall revive as
the corn, they shall grow as the vine, and the scent thereof
shall be as the wine of Lebanon. This is what's going to happen,
they're going to grow, they're going to have life, and they're
going to have the scent of wine. You know what wine is? It's joy.
That's what it represents in Scripture, joy. Is not Christ all our joy? And Ephraim shall say, What have
I to do anymore with idols? Why, I've heard Him. I've heard
Him. You put that little statue over
there, you know what you're going to hear? Nothing. I've heard God. What have I to
do anymore with those trinkets? Those nothings? I've heard Him
and observed Him. I am a green tree. This is Christ speaking, I am
a green tree and from me is thy fruit found. Fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, meekness. I'm
a green tree. In other words, I don't wither.
Christ said, I'm not going to fade. And because I don't fade,
you don't fade. Because I give you fruit, you
shall find fruit. Now who is wise? That's the next question, the
last question he asks in the verse. Who's wise? Those who hear the call of God.
Those who confess their sin and nature in the grateful. Those who believe and come by
the Word of God, by the blood of Christ. Those have the assurances
of God. Those have the effects of grace
in them. But all who will not, listen,
you will die in your sins. And I want you to understand
this, it will be your fault. You understand? People blame
the election of God. That's what they'll do now. They'll
say, well, you didn't choose me, so I... Nobody in hell will
blame the election about their damn... They'll understand then
why they're in hell. They're in hell because of their
own sin. They shall fall by their own transgression. May God give you the wisdom then
to come to Christ. Now. May He call you. I pray God will bless this. Let's
stand and be dismissed in prayer.