Our text tonight is one verse
in Acts chapter 4, but turn with me to Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter 3, let's read the first
11 verses here in Acts chapter 3. Now, Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb, was carried,
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called
Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked
an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes
upon him with John, said, look on us. And he gave heed unto
them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, silver
and gold have I none, But such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right
hand and lifted him up. And immediately his feet and
ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up, stood and
walked. and entered with them into the
temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people
saw him walking and praising God, and they knew that it was
he which sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple.
And they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had
happened unto him. And as the lame man which was
healed, held Peter and John. All the people ran together unto
them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. This man sat lame every day in
this gate that was called Beautiful. And on this particular day, something
beautiful happened to this man. He was raised up. literally raised up, not only
to walk, but to leap with joy and wonder and amazement and
praise. And how did this great thing
happen to him? The middle of verse six says it happened in
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Heater said, silver and gold
have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Every good and perfect
thing that happens to God's people, it happens to them in the name
of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Look with me now at chapter four.
Chapter 4 verse 8 says, Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all
and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become
the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. His
name is the only name. Everything that happens to God's
people happens in His name, His precious name. Don't you love,
I just, I love Jesus Christ of Nazareth. That's my favorite
four words I've read so far. His precious name, oh, how sweet.
Sweetest name I know. That's the sweetest name I know.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. Now, I want to read three verses
of scripture to you, and then we're gonna get into our message
tonight, all right? I have something very pressing
on my heart for us tonight. Turn with me to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55 verse 1 says, Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Who is saying that? God is saying that. We could
read down through that chapter and we would clearly see that
God is saying that. Who is he saying that to? He
is saying it to everyone that thirsteth. Everyone that thirsteth. That's who he's saying that to.
And specifically, he's saying it to he that hath no money. Everyone who has no money and
is thirsty. All right, turn with me to John
7. John 7, verse 37. In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst,
let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. Who is saying that? Our Lord
Jesus Christ is saying that. Who did our Lord say that to? Any man or woman that thirsts. Any man or woman that believes
on him. Isn't that what he said in verse
38? He that believeth on me. Any, any. Turn with me to Revelation
22. Revelation 22 verse 17 says,
and the spirit and the bride say, come and let him that heareth
say, come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will
let him take the water of life freely. Who is saying that? Well,
the spirit is saying that. The bride is saying that. Him
that heareth is saying that. And what are they saying? Come. Come. Who are they saying it
to? Him or her. That is a thirst. Whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely. Whosoever will. I woke up Tuesday morning with
something on my heart and in my mind, and I thought, this
is something that I want all of us to know. And I am deeply,
and you'll see in a minute why I say this, but I am deeply praying
that the Lord will make this clear. I am very deeply praying
the Lord will make this clear. I want us to know this for our
own comfort. I want us to know this for our
witnessing to others. I want us to know this for our
hope of God having sheep and calling them out from our families
and from our communities and. And I'm going to tell you what
it is, and then you're going to have to hear me out on it.
OK, you're going to have to give me a minute. I will do my best
to explain what I'm saying, but. May the Lord make it clear. And
let me start by just telling you what it is. The door is still open. This is so important. I mean,
this is so important for God's people to know. I want I want
the unbelieving world to hear this, but this is for God's people
tonight. The door is still open. There
is still time. There is still hope because God's
door is still open. What do I mean in saying that?
After Noah finished building the ark, he and his family sat
in that ark for seven days with the door wide open. Seven days
with that door wide open. For seven days, any soul who
wanted to be in that ark could have walked right on in. But
for the longest time in my life, I did not understand that. For the longest time in my life,
I didn't understand that. I even heard men say that. I
heard preachers make that statement to me. That door was wide open.
Whoever wanted to come on in could have walked right on in.
I did not understand that. There could be some right now
who don't understand that. I grew up from a child hearing
the true doctrines of grace preached. There's never been a time from
the time that I, you know, could be aware of anything concerning
God or anything concerning what we call religion There's never
been a time that I did not believe that all men and women, boys
and girls were totally ruined sinners. I mean, you know how you understand
that there are things that moments in your life that your memory
goes back to early, early memories. I mean, from early memories,
I have always believed that All souls are totally ruined sinners. And I don't say that arrogantly.
I say that thankfully. I'm thankful for that because
they are. That's so. That's a true thought. That's a true truth. All men and women, boys and girls,
are totally depraved sinners, completely ruined sinners. There's
never been a time in my life that I did not believe that God
the Father elected exactly who He was going to save. Just in
case anyone has not understood me yet or the Word yet or whatever,
God the Father chose exactly who he was going to save through
all generations of time. God is God and he knows everything
and everybody individually and he hand selected exactly who
he was going to save from all through all of time and he did
that before the foundation of the world, before the world ever
started. That decision was made before the world ever started. That is set in stone that cannot
be altered or undone. Either a soul is one of the elect
or a soul is not one of the elect. I've always believed that and
I'm so thankful because that's so. That's so. That's the absolute truth. There's
never been a time that I did not believe that Christ only
died for His elect. He did not make a general bloodshed
payment. He did not get on a cross and
shed His blood to just see if anybody wanted to take Him up
on the offer. He didn't die for everybody and
therefore everybody is not saved. He only died for the chosen people. He's the successful Savior in
that. And that's so, that's the truth.
By God's grace, from my youth, I was taught that every one of
those people, those totally ruined, depraved people, everyone that
the Father chose and Christ died for, every one of them will be
called and quickened to their salvation. and all of them will
make it to glory. None of them are going to be
lost. None of them are going to be lost. I am so thankful
the Lord allowed me to be taught that because that's so. That
is so. God is sovereign. Known unto
God were all of his works from the beginning. This thing is
ordered and sure, period. I don't ever remember a time
when I did not have that head knowledge. I don't ever remember a time
when I did not have that head knowledge. But even though I
had that head knowledge back then, I do not believe I had
yet gotten a hold of the heart of the matter. For the longest time, I never
could find assurance for myself. And I've told you all this many
times. I've told you this many times, but I knew that God elected
a people. I just did not know if I was
one of his elect people. I believed God elected a people.
I just didn't know if I was one of them. As far as witnessing
goes, I believe when I think back on my life, I believe I
thought, what's the point? What's the point? Either a soul is one of the elect
and they're going to be saved or they're not one of the elect
and they're going to be damned. What's the point? concerning the communities that
I've lived in. I've known from the Word of God,
we could sit here and turn and turn and turn, somebody say,
where is that in the Word of God? We could be here all night
long. I have known from the Word of God that God's people are
a small remnant. They are a small remnant. Our
Lord said, few there be that find life. Few there be that
find it. And if in a given place a few
were called and I, you know, I go back to these, like these
congregations that I've lived in. If I was in a congregation where
a few were called, I literally thought, I think that has to
be about it. It's probably about it. You know, there's a few gathered
here and that's probably about it. Maybe one or two more will
show up, but we can pretty much just stop right here. No, no. Our Lord said everyone, any man, whosoever will. If God saved me, that shouldn't
cause me to think that God's probably not going to save somebody
else. Well, you know, God chose me,
therefore he's probably not going to choose you. This is a 50 50
thing. And, you know, I'm I'm the one
so sorry. Can anybody enter into what I'm
saying? No, it's just it's very few. The odds are not in your
favor. No, no. If God saved me, that
ought to prove to me that God can save anybody, any man, any
woman. All right, now let me see if
I can explain what I mean by this. Many years ago, a man said
to Brother Henry Mahan and a few other men who were standing there,
He said, Noah and his family were elected to be in that ark. God put them in that ark. Amen. That's right. The man said, another soul couldn't
have gotten in that ark, even if he wanted to. Brother Henry
said, now hold on now. That's not right. That's not right. It's not. It's not right. But here's the
thing about it. I used to think that. I heard
that story told, it happened years ago, many years ago. And
I heard it many years ago. And the moment I heard it, I
thought, I used to think that. I can totally
see me having said the same thing that man said, because that's
what I used to think. I believed in election. I believe that God does not change. God does not change. I am the
Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. God does not change. He is the
same yesterday, today, forever. God does not change. What's done
is done. And here's the thing about it.
That's so. That's correct. But I was missing
the heart of the matter. I was missing the heart of the
matter to the point that my heart broke. I'm sincere every time
I stand up here by God's grace. I say with Job, I'll put my hand
over my mouth. But I'm being really serious
and sincere right now. I can think back through my life. I remember sitting in West Harpeth. I remember sitting in Madisonville
listening to Maurice Montgomery one time. I have moments and
times and times and times that I used to think, how sad. I mean, this whole scene used
to roll through my mind. I used to think, how sad would
it be for the person, the poor soul, who humbly comes up to God begging
for mercy. Oh, Lord, please show mercy to
me. Please be merciful, Lord. Please
cover my sin. Please forgive me for Christ's
sake. Please save me, Lord. Please give me rest. How sad
would it be if a soul went to God in that way only to hear
from the throne, no, you're not one of the elect. You're not holding the right
lottery number. It's damnation for you. Oh, how sad, how sad. I used to be so sad over that
thought. You know what the heart of the
matter is? That scenario will never happen. That scenario will
never happen. I want God's people to know this. That scenario will never happen. He, anybody that cometh to Christ
shall in no wise be cast out. Buddy, you sure are making election
pretty broad. Nope. God is. Election is so
much broader than we realize. Oh, the height of it, the depth
of it, the length of it, the breadth of it. We get this us
for and no more mentality. No. It was not that another soul
couldn't have been in that ark even if he wanted to. The problem
in Noah's day was no other soul wanted to. And that may be the case today.
That may be the case today. But it also may not be the case
today. This is what I want God's people
to know. That may not be the case today. And our Lord has
given mankind and I've chosen these words very carefully. God
has given mankind a way. There is a way. To come to him. That he will accept. And it's
a way that will evidence his election on a soul. Coming to Christ is not left
up to man's free will. If anybody thinks I'm preaching
free will, let me just stomp that in the ground. I'm not.
Coming to Christ is not left up to man's free will. But how
a man or a woman comes to Christ will evidence whether he or she
was elected to come to Christ. It'll evidence whether that sinner
was drawn by the Father to come to Christ. And in seeing this,
this is assurance for us. I'm being very serious. This
is what did it for me. This is what helped me and relieved
me. This is assurance for us. This
is a word of hope to witness to other people. What do you say to other people?
What do you say about God's sovereignty and God's election? and what's
done is done and all of these things. In seeing this, I now
have something to say to this community. If this entire city came to Christ
on the terms that He has given in this book, if this entire
city came to Christ on the terms that He has given in this book,
they would be welcomed in, the whole city, they'd be welcomed
in, they would be evidenced as being God's people, and they
would be saved. What are the terms? What is the
way? Let me just remind you of the
three scriptures we read. In Isaiah 55, our Lord said,
ho, everyone that thirsteth. everyone that thirsteth." John
7, he said, if any man thirst. Revelation 22, he said, he that
is a thirst. This is where our own personal
assurance comes from. Because I did not know if I was
one of his elect, but I knew I needed to be. I knew I wanted
to be. I knew I was hoping to be. If any man is in need, thirst
is need. That's what it is. If anyone
is in need, if anybody is in need, I mean anybody. Oh, I need, I hunger and I thirst
for what? Righteousness. I need righteousness. I need mercy. I hunger and thirst
for forgiveness. I hunger and thirst for forgiveness. I hunger and thirst for Christ. I want Christ. I want to win
Christ. In Isaiah 55, he said, whoever
comes without any money, that's his terms. If you're going to
come and be accepted and be evidenced as one of his elect, you got
to come without any money. You got to come broke. Broken
and contrite. Broken and contrite. Empty. Whoever comes empty, it just
warms my heart to want to go out and tell everybody, anybody,
don't you believe in election? Yes! You come empty, you're one
of them. I struggled for the longest time
to give people assurance, saying, God will do this. I used to think,
how do I know? And then it dawned on me, he
said so. These are his terms. You come empty, empty of self-righteousness,
empty of any worthiness, anybody, everybody who comes empty will be accepted. Revelation
22, he said, whosoever will take it freely. Whoever will take
it freely. That is the problem with people.
They don't want to take it freely. They want to do their part to
pay for it somehow. That's what everybody wants to
do. They want to pay for it somehow. Whoever will take it freely without
cost, without work, without earning it. That's the soul that can
come. That's the soul. In John 7, he
said, let that soul come to me. Let that soul come to me. Let
that soul not come to himself or herself. Don't come to your
works. Don't come to your anything.
Come to me. He said, if any soul comes to me, I will in no wise
cast that soul out. because that soul is one of my
elect. If any soul truly comes to Christ and doesn't come to
their decision and doesn't come, well, I decided to get saved
or I decided, you know, these are the things you got to knock
off and check off and do in order to be saved. If any soul comes
as a broken, empty, needy sinner who says, Lord, I'll have it
freely. If you give it freely, I'll take
it freely. You do all the work. Amen. You
get all the glory? Absolutely. Any soul who comes that way,
he said, I'll in no wise cast that soul out because that soul
is one of my elect, who the Father has caused to come by drawing
that soul to me. And it is set in stone. That
soul is going to be saved. In our story, why did I read
that story to us at the beginning? It's because in our story there
in Acts, that lame man was in need. He was in need, and he
was broke, and he was begging for help, and he got it. And if any man or woman comes
to Christ like he did, that man or woman will get it too. There is no other name Jesus
Christ of Nazareth. That's all you need. That's all
you need. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There's
no other name on earth who is willing to save us. You come
like that. I don't need to promise anybody
anything. He promises based on his own covenant. He will save
you. You come to him like that. He
will save you. He is willing to save you. And
based on that covenant of His blood, He must save you. What good news that is. No other
name given among men whereby we must be saved. Whosoever will,
any man or woman who has been made willing to, let him or her
come. You buy, you eat, you drink,
you live, you take the water of life who is Jesus Christ of
Nazareth. Freely. Freely. Now, let me ask
you this. Isn't that so sweet? Isn't that
about the sweetest thing you've ever heard? That's the sweetest
thing. Sweetest name I know. Hope of
earth. Joy of heaven. Amen.