Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew 4 once again. Matthew 4. Our Lord here has
just begun His ministry, being baptized at the end of
chapter 3. and being tempted in the wilderness
at the beginning of chapter 4. And verse 17 says, from that
time He began to preach, which as we just saw, that is the means
that He's chosen to use to quicken His people. The preaching of
the Word. What I want us to see now is HOW THOSE MEANS, HIS MEANS, THE
MEANS OF PREACHING, MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE WORK
AND THE POWER OF GOD. THAT IS HIS MEANS, THE MEANS
OF PREACHING THE TRUTH OF THE WORD. AND HE'S CHOSEN TO USE
THAT TO QUICKEN HIS PEOPLE AND TO CALL HIS PEOPLE TO HIMSELF.
but it must be accompanied by the work and the power of God. I told you at the end of that
Bible study that John 10, 27 was a verse that would bridge
the Bible study with this message, and it is. He said, my sheep, my sheep, and that's what I wanna
really emphasize, my sheep, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me." Now, from these same verses that
we just looked at, we're gonna see that that is so. That is
absolutely so. Let's read verses 18 to 22. Matthew
four, verse 18, it says, in 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 saith
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, let me
give you the title of this message. And I pray that this will spark
some thought in us because this is the foundation of everything
that we're going to look at. The title is why didn't Zebedee go? That's
the title of this message. Why didn't Zebedee go? It says that our Lord saw two
brethren, Peter and Andrew, and he called them and they followed
him. And then it says he saw two more
brethren, James and John, but it says right here that three
men were in that ship. And Zebedee, after he called
James and John, they followed him. They left everything and
they followed him. They left the boat, they left
the nets and they left their father. But Zebedee stayed right where
he was and he just kept on doing what he was doing. Now I've read these verses so
many times and you have too. You know this story so well.
I have read over this passage so many times, but when I read
it this time, I thought, why didn't Zebedee go? It's just
that thought struck me. Why didn't Zebedee go? Clearly the Lord's call was powerful. It was, it was effectual, meaning
effective. He said, follow me. And it was
effective. Peter, Andrew, James, John, those
four men who probably had more zeal for
the business than Zebedee. He was probably over it by that
point. They left everything. They just dropped everything
and they followed him. But why didn't Zebedee go? What
was that man thinking in his mind and feeling in his heart
that would cause him to have no desire to go with them as
he watched them walk away? Clearly, He didn't want to go. He did not want to go. Had He
wanted to go, He could have followed them. Verse 25, the last verse
in the chapter says, great multitudes of people followed Him. Lots of people followed Him. Our Lord said in John 6, Him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Aren't you so glad for that verse? He said in John 7, if any man
thirst, our Lord's gospel is just so
loving and so So in welcoming and inviting, he said, if any
man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He said in Matthew 11, come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. All ye. Any man, if the Lord
is willing, we're gonna close this service with wonderful words
of life. The last line in that song, I
cringe every time I sing it. All for pardon and peace to all.
But here's the truth of the matter. I am to tell any man, all ye,
if you thirst for Christ, come to him. If you need Christ, go to him. He will in no wise cast you out. So with that being the case,
why didn't Zebedee go? That man's name, that particular
man's name is mentioned in the scripture 12 times. Every time it's referring to
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 12 times, not one time is there
any indication that he had a saving interest in Christ. His wife's
name was Salome. Her name is mentioned twice in
two of the Gospels on coming to the tomb Sunday morning and
the stone was already rolled away. She was bringing spices
to anoint his body. Apparently she had an interest
in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it does not appear that Zebedee
had any interest in Christ. Could you imagine being that
close to the Master, the eternal God of heaven and earth? that
close to him and having your actual name, not just there's,
you know, the name is Gabriel is in here. The name John is
in here. Having your actual name in the
Holy word of God, not one time, but 12 times and missing him. Could you imagine
that? not being one of the ones who
followed him and had a saving interest in him. I just could
not imagine. Why didn't Zebedee go? I thought
about this man for a while. And honestly, my heart broke
for him. I'm being very sincere. My heart
absolutely broke for this man. But you know, that's the way
it always has been with man. My heart breaks for men and women. That's the way it's always been
with man. After Noah finished the ark, Noah and his family and all those
animals sat inside the ark for seven days with the door wide
open. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. And this is what his message
was. He told everybody for the whole time he built that ark,
he said, you must be inside this ark. Judgment is coming. And
this ark is your only hope. You must be in this ark. And for seven days, he sat there
with the door wide open. Anybody who wanted to come inside
that ark could have come inside. Why weren't people fighting to
get inside the ark? Why weren't they fighting to
get in there? Our Lord told us why. He said, it's because of
our sin. This is the reason why it's all
because of our sin. He said, because of your sin,
you will not come to me that you might have life. What that
means is it's my fault. That's what it means. It's my fault. You will not come
to me. That's the case for all men,
women, boys, and girls. Mankind in his sinful nature
has no heart to come to Christ. To prove it, mankind in his sinful
nature has no heart to come to church, much less Christ. You know, you got to drag people
sometimes, unless their conscience gets to them to the point that
they're willing to go. But the sinful nature of the
flesh has nothing for Christ. It does not want to come to Christ.
It does not want to follow Him in the way of eternal life. That's
the truth. He said, sinful man left alone
will not come to me and cannot come to me. Now that's the absolute truth
regarding man, the absolute truth regarding all man. All right. Well, if that's the case, then
maybe we need to ask this question. Why did Peter, Andrew, James,
and John go? If all that is so, if that's
the case, if man will not come to Him, cannot come to Him, then
why did those four men go? If man in his sinful state wants
nothing to do with Christ, then why did they go? Two words in
this text will clue us in to the answer on both questions.
Why didn't Zebedee go? And why did the rest of them
go? These two words will give us the answer. Verse 18. And
Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee saw two brethren. That's the first word brethren. 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." Not three. But 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 that's
the second word, called. He saw brethren and called them. The only reason those four men
went is because they were brethren. They were chosen to be brethren.
In mercy and grace. And they were called. And the reason why Zebedee didn't
go. Is because because God left him alone. Just left him alone. And he was not chosen to be a
brother. And he was not called. Zebedee heard the words of the
Lord just like James and John did. They were all three standing
right there. But unless the power of God accompanies
the means, it's impossible with man. It is so impossible with
man. And it's because man is in such
a sinful state. Our condition naturally is so
sad. It is so sad. It's just so sad. But this is what the scripture
says about God's salvation. All right, let's read a couple
of places together. Go with me to Isaiah 41. Here it's saying that the whole
land is full of idolatry and wickedness against God. But in Isaiah 41, verse 8, it
says, but thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the seed of Abraham, my friend. I've chosen you to be my friend.
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called
thee. from the chief men thereof and
said unto thee, thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast
thee away. He said, you're blessed because
I have chosen you and called you and not cast you away. That's the only hope that any
sinner has of receiving the blessing of salvation that's in Christ.
That is the only hope. It's to be chosen of the Father
and called of the Spirit. All who are redeemed in the blood,
every soul who is redeemed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
is chosen of the Father and called of the Spirit. Now, what that
means is God's salvation is particular. It's particular, chosen of the
Father, redeemed of the Son, called of the Spirit, particular. Turn with me over to 1 Peter
2. First Peter 2, he's talking right
here about those who don't belong to Christ and they haven't been
given a heart to Christ, a heart for Christ. He said to them,
verse 8, Christ is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. Verse 9, He said, but you, in
particular, you who do belong to Christ and have been given
a heart for Him, He said, but you are a chosen generation,
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. He said, you have been
chosen and called. That's where the difference lies.
That's the difference. Why will one follow Christ and
another not follow Christ? but follow himself and follow
his own works and follow his own way. Why is that? It's only
because God has made a difference. a particular difference. You know, when Israel was in
bondage to Egypt and God sent Moses and Moses delivered them
out right before they left, the Lord told them, a dog is not
going to bark at you. A dog will not move his tongue
at you as you're leaving, that it may be known how I've put
a difference between you and the Egyptians. The Lord has made
a difference. Had God left mankind alone, just
let all people alone, all men and women would have been exactly
the same. Ended up exactly the same, the same lump of sin, the
same rebellion against God that would have been all men and women,
but God chose to make a difference. And God will call every soul
that he chose to that difference. Don't turn, but Revelation 17,
14 says, they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. Now last Sunday morning, we had
a message on election. You may remember we were in Romans
11, verse five. It said, even so then at this
present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And in this thing of the Lord
choosing to pass by Zebedee and leave him alone and choosing
to call Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him, we're
dealing once again with the subject of election, dealing with that
same subject. And until God gives a true understanding
of what his election really is, it's something that men and women
just naturally can't understand. just cannot understand it. They
say, every time they hear the word, they say, why do you insist
over and over on preaching this doctrine of election? Like it's a pet doctrine. You
know, why do you have this pet doctrine? You keep bringing up
election. Why do you want to keep talking about election?
Well, the first thing we need to know is it's not a pet doctrine.
It's the foundation of salvation. It is the foundation of God's
salvation. To ignore or omit election would
be just like a contractor wanting to build a house without a foundation. Well, you don't need that. Just
put the walls on the sand. Well, that's not gonna work.
Not if you want it to stand in the end. And that's how it is
with God's salvation. That salvation is in the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that blood was shed on purpose
for a particular people. It was all according to a perfect
blueprint of God. Everything about salvation is
particular. It's all particular. Every drop
of the blood of the Lord, Jesus Christ, God forbid the thought
that he shed his blood in vain. He just died. Now it's out there.
It has been spilled. If anybody has any interest,
God forbid. Every drop of the blood of Christ
was purposed. to accomplish a particular salvation. It was sent to cover particular
sin in particular people. It was not shed in vain. Not
one drop was wasted. He didn't die in general. He
died in particular. Everything about salvation is
perfectly ordered. and perfectly established on
the father's election. The father chose exactly who
he wanted to save and the son saved exactly who the father
wanted him to save. And that's what God's election
is. It's a particular appointment to salvation. Election is God's
word and God's way in salvation. You have man's way and you have
God's way. And election is an on-purpose
God's way. Election is good news. Why do
we keep preaching election? Because it's the best news sinners
could ever be told. Election is what turned enemies
into brethren. I'm gonna choose to break down
that middle wall of partition with that center right there.
Election is what turned hatred to love. Elections was started
the whole thing. Now here are some absolute truths
concerning the foundation of God's election. Turn with me
over to second Thessalonians two. Second Thessalonians two, verse 13, it says, but we are
bound to give thanks. All right, election, everything
about this verse tells us something of election. Election is the
foundation of all of our praise and all of our thanks. He said,
we're bound to give thanks. We're bound to give thanks to
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Election is the
foundation of love. Chosen to be loved. He said, we're bound to give
thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God hath chosen you, he goes on to say. Election is
the foundation of sovereignty. God chose you. It's the foundation
of all sovereignty. Foundation of praise, the foundation
of love, the foundation of sovereignty. Election is the foundation of
eternity. He said, we're bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God had from
the beginning chosen you. Election is from eternity. Election
is unto salvation. Bound to give thanks always to
God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Election is unto salvation. It is the foundation of salvation. And he went on to say that it
is through the sanctification of the Spirit. Election is applied. It is made known. It's revealed
through this call, this notification, this setting apart of the Spirit.
It's the foundation of the call of the Spirit. And then he said
it's the foundation of all of our faith. He's chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. That's God's election. And that's
what makes the difference in a sinner. Those who belong to
Christ are chosen to belong to Him. And when He calls them,
His people come. He calls through His Word, and
it's a sovereign call. It is a particular, individual
call, and it's a sovereign, effectual, powerful call. It's not a general
call. It's a particular call. I love
the song that says, Hail sovereign love that first began the scheme
to rescue fallen man. Hail matchless, free, eternal
grace that gave my soul a hiding place. The song says, against
the God that ruled the sky, I fought with hand uplifted high. Despised
the mention of His grace. Too proud to seek a hiding place. But thus the eternal counsel
ran. Almighty love arrest that man,
that man in particular. Now the scripture does say that
many are called, meaning there is a general call that is heard
by the ears of the masses, just like Zebedee, bless his heart.
He heard the Lord say, follow me. There is a general call that's
heard by the masses. Many are called in that sense. But the scripture says few are
chosen to receive that personal, direct, arresting call of the
heart, that demanding command to follow Christ. But when one
of his chosen sinners receives that call, the sinner comes. That sinner does not make a decision. That sinner does not make a decision. This is not the call. Now you
need to make your decision. It's time for you to make a decision
on this. What are you going to do now? That's not the call.
The sinner does not make a decision. There is no decision to make
and there's no fork in the road either. That sinner does not question. Just like a fish being caught
up in a net. There's no choice in the matter.
There's no two ways to go. You're coming into this boat. That center, when called, will
leave everything, meaning all of his own works. Every work in the flesh in that
center will immediately follow Christ. He will follow the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will look to the salvation of Christ. He will stop looking
to salvation right here. He will trust the salvation that
Christ accomplished. He will believe on the salvation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here's how we can know whether
or not we've been called. I'll leave us with this. Our Lord asked the disciples,
these very disciples that he called in Matthew four, very
same ones. He asked them, there was a time
when our Lord was teaching and it says many that followed him
left and followed him no more. And if God leaves us alone, that's
exactly what we'll do. If God leaves me alone, I'm telling
you exactly what I'll do. I will leave and I'll no longer
follow him. But if we have been chosen and if we have been called,
then this will be the case for us. Peter will speak on our behalf,
those very same apostles that he called, when the masses left,
the Lord turned to them and He said, will you go away also? And the answer is, if you leave
us to ourself, we will. But on behalf of everybody, Peter
said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Where else can we go? Have I
been chosen and called to follow Christ? Well, let's ask this
question. Ask yourself this question. Where
else is there to go? What other work do I have? What
else can I look to? Lord, you have the words of eternal
life. Eternal life is in you and you
alone. I can't go to my works. There's
no life there. I can't go to anything that I
possess on my own. There's no life there. I have
to go to him. The only hope that I have is
to follow him. That is the call of God's election. And I pray God will call us with
it. I pray God will call us. I pray
he will choose us. I pray he will call us to himself. This is what I pray each person
here will hear. Follow me. Stop following men. Stop following yourself. Stop
following your works. Stop following your way. Stop
following your decision and follow me. I pray that God will speak
that to our hearts. And I pray because of His choice
and because of His powerful call, I pray we will leave all and
follow Him. That's what I pray will happen,
honestly. Honestly, don't let that call go in one ear and out
the other. Lord, speak to my heart, please.
Leave all and let's follow Him. All right, let's all stand together.