As I said in the Bible study
hour, it is indeed good to be back with you. I'm not exaggerating when I say
I counted an honor to be here and stand in this pulpit. But I was telling Debbie on the
way here, and I think only the men that preach the gospel will
know this, there's never a time that I'm scheduled to preach
that I don't wish it was somebody else. And I think you men that
preach know what I'm talking about. It is a task that no matter the education
or your orator abilities, that no man is fit to undertake. But I remember the words of that
old hymn, all is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes
down. And I ask you to pray for me. As I attempt to exalt our Savior,
I'd like to remind our congregation periodically that out of the
eight billion souls on the face of this earth, you all sitting
here and in other gospel churches will hear more gospel in the
next 45 minutes than most people in this earth will hear their
entire lifetime. Many will never even hear the
name of Christ. And we are a people blessed beyond measure. You young
people, some of you may want to be here, some of you may not.
But at one point in your life, I believe you will come to be
thankful for parents, for godly parents that had you come and
sit under the gospel. I know many of us sitting here
were not privileged to have those kind of parents. So you need to be thankful. And
that probably sounds like a lecture from an old guy, but it is indeed
the truth. Turn with me to the book of Mark
chapter 10. I want to read again a different
account of what Cody read a minute ago. Mark chapter 10. I've titled
this message, A Heavenly Calling. I want to talk to you today about
the privilege, the blessing, the unimaginable blessing of
being one of God's called, chosen sheep. Mark chapter 10, we'll
begin reading in verse 46. And they came to Jericho. And
as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number
of people, blind Bartimaeus, We're told this man's name. He
wasn't given us in that account that Cody read earlier, but here
we're told his name was Bartimaeus, and he was the son of Timaeus. And he sat by the highway side
begging. And when he heard that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, saying, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he
should hold his peace, but he cried no more a great deal. Now,
son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still and commanded
him to be called. And they called the blind man,
saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment,
rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said
unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said
unto him, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. Now in this
text, we see a needy sinner crying out for help. Now he had no doubt
heard of this man called Jesus. healing other blind men, his
fame spread throughout the country of these miracles that he did. And in that text that Cody read,
it says that he asked, you know, what's all the commotion about?
And someone said, Jesus of Nazareth is here. And Bartimaeus, his
heart no doubt leaped. because this was his last and
only hope of receiving his sight. But he had heard that this man,
called Christ, had healed others of their blindness. And he cried
out. He knew that if the Lord left
town without healing him, he would be forever doomed to a
life of blindness without sight. And this is a perfect picture
of what happens when a lost man or woman realizes, through the
preaching of the Gospel, that they are blind, they're lost
without any hope whatsoever of being saved from an eternity
of unimaginable misery. But then our God sends them a
gospel preacher and tells them of this one who
gives sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, legs to
the lame, and life to the dead, salvation to the lost. And they
began to cry out in their heart as Bartimaeus did, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy upon me. You're my only hope. I've heard that you saved others.
So Lord, if you will, you can save me as well. Now we know
that our Lord could have continued on his way and ignored Bartimaeus.
And he'd have been just in doing so. He owed this man nothing.
But when he heard this word, mercy. Jesus, our son of David, have
mercy upon me. We're told that he stopped dead
in his tracks. It says, and Jesus stood still.
And don't miss this. commanded him to be called. This was not a request that the
Lord made, it was a command. This word command means to direct
with authority, to have control or authority over, to have at
one's disposal. This is also what happened when
our Lord called his disciples and he said, follow me, and off
they went. Now, let me say something at
the beginning of this message to make it crystal clear, as
I'm talking about this heavenly calling, that it is 100% absolutely the
choice of God Almighty, our sovereign God that we worship, to call
whom he will and to leave to perish whom he will. When men
and women protest that God's sovereign choice is unjust, it
is because they have never seen their need of salvation. Years ago, I remember Maurice
Montgomery. Many of you knew Maurice before
the Lord called him home. I remember him illustrating this,
and he put it this way. I thought it was such a good
illustration. He said, there's a group of men sitting on death
row in a prison, just awaiting their execution. They know they're
guilty, and they know that death is coming. But one day, they
hear that the governor has issued a pardon for one of these men.
And you can bet that their attitude would not be, well, that's the
worst news I ever heard. Who does this guy think he is
to decide who lives and who dies? No, you can bet that every one
of them began to think, could it possibly be me? Could I escape
certain death? And this is the reaction of every
lost sinner who God has shown his wretchedness. That sinner
hears the word of God. that there's a God who sovereignly
saves who He will, and that sinner wonders, is there a chance that
He might save me? He cries out as that publican,
Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. And only men and women who have
no need of salvation have the attitude that God's sovereign
choice is unjust because they don't need a pardon. They're
perfectly fine as they are. Turn over with me to Matthew
4. We're going to read an account here of the Lord calling Peter and
Andrew, James and John, the son of Zebedee. In Matthew 4, starting in verse
18, we read this, And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee,
saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And he said
unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And
they straightway left their nets and followed him. And going on
from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee
and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending
their nets, and he called them. And they immediately left the
ship and their father and followed him." Now, I read this and I think of what
the reaction of their father must have been. Like, where are
you guys going? Who's this guy that you decided
to follow? But the Lord commanded them,
and they did not hesitate. Now keep in mind when we read
this, and I'm sure there were many fishermen on the shores
that day, and he could have called any of them, but he chose these
four men to be his because it pleased him to do so. And the
calling of Matthew happened in the same way. In Luke's account,
we read this. After these things, he went forth
and saw a publican named Levi, also named Matthew, sitting at
the receipt of customs, and he said unto him, follow me. And the scripture tells us he
left all, rose up, and followed him. Now, when we read that Matthew
was sitting at the receipt of customs, it means that he was
a tax collector. But notice what happened when
our Lord commands him to follow Him. Verse 28 says, and he left
all. He left his job security. He
left the money that he had collected that day sitting on his table
and followed the Lord. He did this because of what we
read in Psalm 110, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. This calling is what we refer
to as the irresistible calling. He says, I will. And they shall. Now turn over to the Gospel of
John chapter 10. I want to read a couple of verses
there. Gospel of John chapter 10. We'll read the first five verses. Verily I say unto you, he that
entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up
some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth
in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth
his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him,
for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers." Here our Lord tells us that the sheep hear his voice,
and he calls each one of them by name. Now back in these days,
Shepherds, many times, kept their flock in the field during the
day. And at night, as night began
to fall, they would take them to what was called a sheepfold.
And this sheepfold was usually made of stone walls, six to eight
feet tall. And it had one door. And they
did this so that they could go home at night and sleep in their
own bed. And they turned the custody of
these sheep over to a porter. But in the morning, they would
return, and the porter would open unto them, and they would
look at this group of sheep, and they wouldn't say, how am
I gonna figure out, these all look the same to me, how am I
gonna figure out which sheep are mine? All he had to do was
simply call them, and his sheep came out. The rest of the sheep
didn't know his voice. They went toward the back of
their sheepfold. And this is what he's illustrating here,
my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. Now, there's many
places in scripture that talk about God's irresistible calling. We're told that it's specific,
my sheep, he says, not general, my sheep. And we're told that
this calling is out without repentance, that is, it will never be rescinded
or taken back by God. As Paul tells us in Romans 11,
29, for the calling or the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance. That doesn't mean that there's
no repentance needed. It means that God does not change
his mind. God is not an Indian giver. He
does not call a sinner and then later change his mind. He doesn't
say, you know what? I didn't realize this Rex Bartley
guy was going to be this bad. I just don't think I want him
for one of my sheep. He doesn't bestow the gifts of
the Spirit and then later decides he wants them back. Those who
are called by the power of God are kept by the power of God. We're told this in Jude 24 and
25 where we read these blessed words. Now unto him that is able
to keep you from falling and to present you faultless. Faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only
wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen. This calling of God is
a high calling. As Paul told the Philippians,
I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in
Christ Jesus. And he told Timothy that it is
a holy calling. Be not therefore ashamed of the
testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power
of God, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. This calling is a heavenly calling.
Hebrews tells us, wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our
profession Christ Jesus. And in all three of these verses
that this calling is in and has everything to do with the Lord
Jesus Christ, Paul always made a point of hammering home the
truth that everything we have, we have in Christ. This calling
is an unmerited calling, meaning that we did nothing and can do
nothing to make ourselves worthy of God's calling. He doesn't
look down and say, you know, this guy, he's a pretty good
guy. I think I'll call him. This calling,
we're told, took place before we were ever born, before the
foundation of the world. Paul told the Corinthians, for
you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many noble, not many mighty are called. But God
hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the
wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things that are mighty, and base things of the world, and
things which are despised hath God chosen. Yea, and things which
are not, to bring to naught the things that are. Why? That no
flesh should glory in his presence. Now, if you were going into a
war, There's no doubt that you would choose the toughest, most
battle-hardened guys that you could get a hold of, that you
could find anywhere. And when the battle was won,
there would be no doubt why it was won, because these soldiers
were the best available. But that's not how God does things.
He tells us his thoughts are not our thoughts. He chooses
the weak things, the base things, the useless things to confound
the things that are mighty. So that when that battle is won,
he is the one that gets the glory. Now we're told in Romans 8, 28,
that all things work together for good. People like to quote
that. I've heard, I don't know how
many people that don't even know the Lord. Well, you know, all
things work together for good. They don't quote the other part
of that verse, to them who love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. That verse applies only to those
who are among the called. It applies to no one else. In Thessalonians, Paul writes,
but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning,
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit
and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you. And how did he
do that? By our gospel. And what's the end result? To
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. But some
would say, well, what about that verse that says, many are called,
but few are chosen? That is simply referring to what
we say is a general calling. It's when a man stands to preach
the gospel to everyone in his hearing, that is not what is
referred to as the effectual calling of the elect that we
find spoken of throughout the scriptures. Over in Luke 14,
turn there with me, Luke 14. It illustrates this very point. Luke 14. Our Lord uses a parable to illustrate
this very point. We'll begin reading in verse
16 of Luke 14. Then He said unto them, A certain
man made a great supper and bade many and sent his servants at
supper time to say to them that were bidden, come, for all things
are now ready. And they all with one consent
began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have
bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it. I pray
thee, have me excused. And another said, I have bought
five yoke of oxen and I go to prove them. I pray thee, have
me excused. And another said, I have married
a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and
showed his Lord these things. Then the master of the house,
being angry, said unto his servant, go out quickly into the streets
and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and the maimed
and the halt and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it
is done as I was commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord
said unto the servant, go out into the highways and hedges
and compel them to come in that my house may be full. For I say
unto you that none of those men which were bidden shall taste
of my supper. This word compel that we find
in verse 23 has several different meanings. But one of those meanings
means this, to exert a strong, irresistible force upon That
is the definition that applies to our text. Our God makes his
elect willing when he calls him by what we refer to as irresistible
grace. Now, there's many times in the
New Testament that this word called is used. And if I were
to read them all, we'd be here for quite a while. But let me
just read a few randomly here. Corinthians says, Paul, called
to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and
Sophonies, our brother, unto the church of God, which is at
Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be
saints. not who decided they wanted to
be saints, who are called to be saints with all that in every
place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In that same
chapter, verse nine, it says, God is faithful by whom you were
called unto the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ. In Thessalonians, he writes that
you would walk worthy of God who hath called you into his
kingdom and glory. Peter tells us, he that which
has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Peter also said, for even here
unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example. And Ephesians tells us there
is one body and one spirit, even as you are called in one hope
of your calling. And I like this in 2 Thessalonians. For we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation through sanctification
and belief of the truth. But he doesn't just leave it
there. Where unto he called you, how again? By our gospel. to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells those saints in Rome
that they are called to be saints. And Peter tells us that this
calling brings us from darkness, unimaginable darkness, into God's
glorious light. But ye are a chosen generation,
Peter said, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people,
that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Paul tells
us, I should say, in Timothy, that in result of that calling,
which is eternal life. He said, fight the good fight
of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you also are
called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses. So how is it that the elect hear
this calling of God and other men and women don't? This is
what I was referring to earlier when I talked about eight billion
souls in this world. How is it you're sitting here?
And other men and women in Kingsport have no interest in the gospel.
They're attending a church maybe this morning, but they're hearing
lies. And if that sounds harsh, all
I can say, I'm not gonna say I'm sorry, I'm gonna say too
bad because it's the truth. They're hearing lies that will
in the end damn their soul. So how is it? that men and women
hear this, turn over with me to Matthew 13, and we'll find
out how it is that you're sitting here, and I'm standing here,
and other men and women are not. Our Lord speaking to His disciples
in Matthew 13, and after speaking to the multitude in parables,
Our Lord was questioned by His disciples as to why He did that.
And in Luke, I'm sorry, in Matthew 13, beginning in verse 10, our
Lord tells them, And the disciples came and said
unto him, Why speakest unto them in parables? And our Lord said
this, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall
be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath
not from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore
speak I unto them in parables, because they seeing see not. and hearing they hear not, neither
do they understand. And then in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, by hearing they shall
hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall
not perceive. For this people's heart is wax
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed
are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, now
listen to this, for verily I say unto you that many prophets and
righteous men have desired to see those things which you see
and have not seen them and to hear those things which you hear
and have not heard them. Now these verses ought to make
us fall on our faces and thank God for his mercy. Unto us it is given. Christ himself said in John 6,
50 or 65, therefore I say unto you that no man can come unto
me except it were given him of the father. He said much the
same thing in John 6, 44. No man can come to me. It is
an impossibility. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me draw him, that he calls him. And I will raise him up at the
last day. This drawing is a sovereign work of God Almighty. He decides
who comes to Christ and who doesn't. He decides who hears and who
doesn't. He decides who sees and who doesn't. He decides who is called and
who is not. To the Jacobs of this world,
it is given. To the Esau's of this world,
it is not given. Faith, we're told plainly, is
the gift of God, without which you cannot hear the things of
God, you cannot see the things of God, and you cannot understand
the things of God. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. According to Hebrews 11.6, the
sovereign God gives the very thing to sinners that they need
to be pleasing in his sight, faith. It is a gift given to
some and withheld from others. And those things, we're told,
are hid or hidden to unbelievers. Paul, throughout his writings,
calls these hidden things of God mysteries. Colossians 1,
wherefore I am made a minister according to the dispensation
of God which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God,
even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations. For countless ages, these things
were kept hidden by God Almighty, but they are now made manifest.
They are now revealed. And to who are they revealed?
They're now made manifest to his saints, to whom God would
make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Romans 16, 24 and 25 tells us
this, now to him that is of power, to establish you according to
my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world
began." How long? Since the world began. Because it doesn't end there,
but now is made manifest. But now it's made manifest, and
by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment
of the everlasting God, made known to all nations with the
obedience of faith. And when it says it's made known
to all nations, it doesn't mean, of course, that everyone in all
those nations. It means to God's chosen people
in all nations on the face of this earth. Ephesians 3. Paul writes this, for this cause
I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye
have heard of the dispensation of grace of God, which is given
me to youward, how that by revelation he hath made known unto me this
mystery, as I write in a few words, whereby when we read,
ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which
in other ages was not known to the sons of men. that it is now
revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by his Spirit, that
the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers
of his promise in Christ Jesus. Now, knowing these things, that
we are called by God, number two, that we are drawn to Christ
by the Spirit, Number three, that we are shown mysteries that
have been hid for ages from others. And number four, knowing that
we are given the gift of faith in Christ, which is not given
to so many others, I ask you, what manner of men and women
ought we to be? How can we not stand in awe of
the goodness and mercy of God? How can we who are the call of
God, not be the most thankful people on the face of this earth,
that God hath from the beginning chosen us to salvation and belief
of the truth. Now, if you're sitting here today
or listening over the streaming and you've never bowed to the
Lordship of Christ, I would encourage you to do one thing. If you're able, plead to God
for mercy. Be as blind Bartimaeus. Ask him
to make you one of the called. You're doomed to an eternity
of unimaginable suffering in your present state of unbelief. And I would tell you this, there is never an instance anywhere
in the scriptures that we read of when Christ walked this earth
as a man, that one approached him for mercy, but that mercy
was not given. But understand this also, you
are helpless to help yourself unless God gives you the gift
of faith, unless the Father draws you to Christ, unless he calls
you and gives you ears to hear, you must forever perish. But know this also, there has
never been a sinner go to hell while crying out for mercy, never. And you'll not be the first. Let your attitude be that of
that old hymn, I can but perish if I go, I am resigned to try. And if you're able to plead with
God for mercy from your heart, it is a good sign that he has
begun a good work in you and may yet snatch you from the jaws
of damnation. I pray that the Lord would bless
us to his saints today. Again, I appreciate the privilege
of standing here before you. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Our merciful Father, how thankful we should be to be found among those to whom these mysteries, which
have been hidden for ages and generations, but you now have
made them manifest to our hearts. Father, we cannot imagine why you would do this except
what we're told in the Scriptures. For so it seemed good in your
sight. Father, we thank you. For your
sovereign mercy. That you could have left. His
entire human race to perish. And been just in doing so. But Father, it pleased you to choose a people and to send your son to give
his life for their redemption. Father, help us to ever hold him precious, to never take for granted and
never Be unthankful for this unspeakable
gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father,
bless this congregation. We pray that you would bless
this work here in this place. We thank you, Father, for your
goodness towards sinners, for placing this church in this community
and calling this group of people. And Father, we pray that you
would make this work to flourish. that Christ will get all the
glory from everything that is said and everything that happens
in this place. We ask it in his name and for
his namesake. Amen.