Turn in your Bibles to Psalm
2. Turn to Psalm 2. And as you're turning, let me
give you this introduction to the message. All men and women everywhere,
despite our differences, we all have one thing in common by nature.
Our differences are many. There's lots of races and nationalities. Our intelligence can vary. Our
birth status can be high or low. We're all different ages. Some
are rich, some are poor, and many in between. Some are strong,
others weak. Some are handsome or beautiful,
and others not so much. But one thing all men and women
by nature agree upon, Whether we admit it or not, whether we
admit it or not, it's true, we have one thing in common. We
are all, listen to me, against God and his Christ. Let me show
you that in Psalm two, have you got verse one? Why do the heathen
rage? We do understand we're the heathens,
we're the heathens by nature. And why do the people, that's
us, imagine such a vain thing? Kings of the earth, even them
set themselves and the rulers of the earth take counsel together.
What? Against, against the Lord and
against his anointed. All of us by nature are against
God and against his Christ. Let us break their bands asunder
and cast away their cords from us. We want to be free of them.
Don't want to be controlled by them. Turn to Isaiah 1. It does not matter if we're prepared
to admit it or not. It's what the word of God says.
And the question is, why would anyone, much less everyone, Be
against God. Be against the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know what the answer to that question is? We're just out of
our minds. We are plum crazy. You say, that's
pretty extreme. Well, in the Adam, what do we
think happened? In the Garden of Eden, what do we think happened
to Adam? Adam ate, and he and we could no longer think straight. about anything, much less who
God is and who we are. Look at the last two phrases
of Isaiah one verse five. Isaiah one verse five, the last
two phrases there says, the whole head is sick. We've lost our
mind. We really have. The whole head
is sick and the whole heart is faint. We don't think straight.
We don't feel right. We don't arrive at the right
conclusions. And therefore we're against the Lord Jesus Christ.
All men are by nature, all women are against Christ and his father. What was done in the garden?
What do we do still by nature? We rebel against God. We're against
God and his Christ. Let me give you a few other examples
and we'll come back to Isaiah here. God told Adam, he said, Adam,
I've made this garden for you. Look at it. There were trees
and trees and trees and trees. And he said, you can eat all
you want of all those trees. He said, it's just one thing.
He said, that one in the middle, that tree, don't eat it. And
you know what Adam said? He said, I'm against that. I'm against that. I'm gonna eat
of it. Adam's son, he had a son, Cain. God said, Cain, bring a lamb. Bring a lamb. His brother, he
brought a lamb, didn't he? Cain said, bring a lamb. I'm
against that. I'm against that. I'm gonna bring
some fruit and vegetables instead. Jonah, God said, Jonah, go to
Nineveh and preach. You go down there. What'd Jonah
say? I'm against that. He went and got on a ship the
opposite way going to Tarshish, didn't he? He said, I'm against
that. Joseph told his brothers, God told me that you shall serve
me. You know what they said? We're against that. We're against
that. We're not gonna, no sirree. They
put him in a pit and sold him into slavery, didn't they? We're
against that. Hold cities and nations, Jerusalem,
Israel, Rome, This country today, God said,
Jesus Christ is your king. And they and us all said, we're
really against that. We're really against that. They
said, we will not have that man reign over us. We're against
that. Look at Isaiah chapter one, verse
two. Hear, O heavens, and give ear,
O earth, for the Lord has spoken. He said, I've nourished and brought
up children. And what have they done? They've
rebelled against me. The ox knows his owner, and he
asks his master's crib. But Israel doth not know. My people doth not consider.
Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers,
children that are corruptors. They have forsaken the Lord.
They're what? They're against the Lord. They have provoked
the Holy One of Israel under anger. Why? They're against Him. They are gone away backwards.
What'd they do? They come up and found out He's
King. They go, I'm against Him. I'm going that way. I'm going
away backwards. I'm not having that. Why should
you be stricken anymore? You revolt more and more. Why?
The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. and the
sole of the foot to the top of the head were against him, against
him. Turn to Matthew chapter 12. I was truly astounded when I
got my concordance out and looked up the word against. I was amazed at how often it
occurs in the scriptures. And to put this in perspective,
let me give you some words and how often they're used in God's
word. The word justifier, that's in the scriptures one time. Justification
three times. Justify is just 11 times. Justified
43 times. Just 102 times. Fear, about 450. Love, about
450. Sin, about 450. You know how
many times the word against appears in the scriptures? I just kept
turning pages, over 1,800 times. And I realized that the quantity
of times a word is used is not necessarily a reflection of something.
But I'll tell you what this does tell us. Most of these indicate
and prove that man, men and women, we are against everyone and everything
in this world except me. If it doesn't suit me and doesn't
do me some good I can touch and feel and hold, I'm against it.
By nature, man, all men and women, we're against God and his Christ. Look at Matthew 12, verse 30. Our Lord here himself says these
words, he says, he that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with
me scattereth abroad. If we're not with him, we're
against him. That takes in a whole lot of
folks, doesn't it? And this matter is simple. We're either with
Christ or we're against him. And by nature, no one is with
Christ, but rather is against him. And that is not only foolish,
it's just insane. It is for everyone who's just
lost his mind or her mind against God. How does God deal with those
who are against him? Let me show you one of two ways.
Let me start with some examples. There was Pharaoh. God sent a
prophet to tell Pharaoh, he said, let my people go. What Pharaoh
say? Pharaoh said, I'm against that. I'm against that. And 10 times,
10 times, God showed him, you ought to be with me and not be
against me. Pharaoh said, I'm against it.
And then finally on the 10th time, God, how'd he deal with
him? He killed the firstborn of every
family in Egypt. And still Pharaoh said, I'm against
him. But after he killed his son,
he said, all right, get out, get out, get out. And they didn't
get very far. And Pharaoh got to thinking and
said, I'm against this idea of letting him go. And he sent his
army after him. And here they were up against
the Red Sea. God delivered him miraculously.
He opened up the sea and had it wall standing on each side.
His people went through and here comes Pharaoh's army thundering
down into there. And what happened? That's how he deals with those
who are against him. What about those two cities?
Tell you that Egyptian army is not against him anymore, they're
gone. What about those two cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah? They were against everything,
they were against nature and they were against God. What
happened? God said to Lot. who was with
him. He said, Lot, you get your family
out of that town, out of that city. And they got up on the
hill, and what happened? Says, God rained fire and brimstone. And it came down. Like an atom bomb went off. You know, they've been searching
for that city for thousands of years. Can't be found. You know why? That's what God
does with those who are against him. He deals that way with them. What about Jericho? The people
in Sodom and Gomorrah aren't against him anymore. What about
Jericho? God brought his people up there
and Joshua went up and said, y'all need to surrender. And
they went, we're against that. We're against that. God said
march around that city seven times, blow a trumpet. When he
did, the walls, they were all around, they went. And God said, go in and kill
them all. They're not against God anymore. What about Rome? They oversaw
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, God's son. The whole empire persecuted
God's people. It wasn't too many years after
they crucified Christ. If you want to see what's left
of it, go over there now and all those buildings are falling
down and he just destroyed it. Destroyed the entire empire.
They're not against him anymore. They're gone. Even Israel, they
said we will not have this man reign over us. We're against
him. And although God preserves a
remnant, God has permitted evil men to persecute and kill them
by the millions. Has he not? That's one of the
two ways God deals with those who are against him. But there
is a second way. Thank God there's a second way
he deals with those who are against him. And you know what that's
called? In mercy, in mercy. You know, Jonah, Jonah started
out, I'm against it. I'm not going to Nineveh, I'm
against it, I'm going to Tarshish. But you know what? God said,
Jonah, Jonah. And he made the sea tempestuous
and those sailors hurled Jonah overboard and a giant fish that
God prepared came and swallowed him up and took him down in the
sea for three days. That's a picture of Christ. And
after three days he came up and vomited up on the ground, on
the shore. And you know what Jonah said
now? I see the mercy of the Lord. He didn't leave me in that fish's
belly down there forever. He brought me back. And you know
what? I'm not against going to Nineveh
anymore. I'm going to Nineveh. And he did. Was there ever a
man any more against God and his son than a man named Saul? He's killing, he's killing God's
people everywhere he can catch them. And he's on his way to
kill some more and he's riding down the road and God takes him
and hurls him in the dust, makes him blind. He can't see anything,
can't hear anything, but God's speaking to him, sends a man
to preach the gospel to him. You know what? He gives Paul
a new heart and a new man to love God and his Christ. He's
not against him anymore. Now he's with him. He's with
him. Turn to Revelation 17. So who
determines who will stop being against Christ and starts being
with Christ? Our Lord said, he that is not
with me is against me. Well, are we with Christ or are
we against him? Which camp are we in? Revelation
17 verse 13 describes those who are against the Lord Jesus Christ. They're with Satan. It says,
these have one mind and shall give their power and strength
unto the beast. These shall make war with the
lamb. And the lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lords
and King of Kings. And they that are with him. Now
there's some good news. There's some who are with him
as opposed to being against him and those that are with him.
Here's what they have in common. Three things. They're called
they're chosen and they're faithful. That's good news. Isn't it? So
who are these? They that are with him. Am I
one of the they? Anybody here thinking, I'm not
against that. I'm not against being with him.
Oh, I wanna be one of the they. Well, let's, these three things,
how did this happen? Well, God the Father. These, the they, they're chosen,
called, and faithful. The they are chosen by the Father. In eternity past, he chose a
people. Then they're called by God, the
spirit. He calls them out of darkness
in time to be with Christ, to be with him, to be for him, not
against him. And then they're faithful. God,
the son, Jesus Christ, he makes them that way by his substitutionary
work. They're with him. Now let's look
a little more in depth at these three words, chosen, called,
and faithful, and how can I know if I'm one of these that are
with Christ? Will all men and women react
to these three truths in one of two ways again? One of two
ways. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, look at verse 27. But God hath
chosen, God hath chosen and I want you to notice the things that
he chose, who he chose. If we say we want to be with
him, well this has to describe us because he said God has chosen,
first of all, the foolish things of the world. Okay, that suits
me. That's me. God has chosen the
foolish things of the world. Why? To confound the wise. And
secondly, God has chosen the weak things in the world. That's
me. That's me. Of the world to confound
the things that are mighty. God has chosen the base things.
I'm pretty base. And things which are despised. If you're with Christ, you're
gonna be despised. Yea, God hath chosen things that
are not to bring to naught things that are. Now why did he do it
this way? That no flesh should glory in
his presence. No one's gonna arrive in glory
and say, I did this and I did that. No, no, no, no, no, no,
no. That's not how it's gonna be.
Turn to John 15. John chapter 15. Those with Christ are the elect
chosen of God. You know what some folks say
about that? They say, I'm against that. That's not fair. You ever
heard that? That's not fair. I'm sorry, but
that person is therefore not chosen. Or at least it's not
been revealed yet if they're chosen. Anyone who says I'm against
that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. And God's going to
deal with that injustice. Or God's people who are with
him, they hear that. You know what they say? I'm so
glad it's that way because I never would have chosen him if he hadn't
first chosen me. I'm not against that. Look at
John 15 verse 16. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring
forth fruit and that your fruit should remain that whatsoever
you shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it thee. Do we notice what order that
comes in? We don't choose him and do all this fruit and say,
well, I chose you. No, no, no, no. He chooses us. And then if there's any fruit,
it comes after that fact. The second thing turned to Romans
eight. The first thing is that they
who are with Christ are chosen. The second thing is that they
who are with Christ are called. And the spirit of God says, what
do we say to this? Look at Romans 8 verse 28. And we know that all things work
together for them, for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate. to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom
he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he
also glorified." What do we say to these things? What do we say
to that? I think you ever, y'all, most of you are not old enough
to remember these things. I remember 40 years ago, if you
said predestinate in the city of Ashland, Kentucky, you're
a Mayanite. That's what you are. You go to
that 13th street place. They preach that. And I'm against
that. I've seen it live that way. And
those who are against Christ are against the very truth in
his word. But you know, those he chose
and those he called, you know what we say to these things?
I'm for that. I'm for that. I'm with him who
that is. Yeah. Thank God he called me. I'm not against that. You know
why? Because I was dead in trespasses and sin and dead men don't hear
a call unless God first gives them life. How does he do that? He chose them, predestinated
them, and he calls them. When he calls, there's life.
There's life. You know how many times the word
called is in the Bible? Over 800 times. There's some
truth in that I think. There's some truth in that. He
chose, he calls those who are with him. Turn to 1 Thessalonians
5. Those who are with Christ. are
faithful, that's the third thing. He chose them, he called them
and they're faithful. Modern religion has got it upside
down and backwards. They say, if you do this and
don't do that, if you do this and you don't do that, and you
don't do that, you do this. If you're faithful, you're one
of God's. I'm sorry. That's just backward. If God chooses you and calls
you, he'll keep you faithful. He'll make you faithful. You know what our Lord said?
to those who actually saw him in the flesh, saw him doing all
these miracles, he said to them, oh ye faithless generation. And they were faithful, I mean
they were faithless by nature and so are we. We've got to have
the faithfulness of Christ or we don't have any faithfulness
at all. We simply don't. But those who say, Your salvation
is dependent upon the faithfulness of Christ. I'm against that.
You mean all the things I did, all the works I performed, they
don't count for anything? That's what the word of God says.
Those who are with him, they're kept by the faithfulness of the
Lord Jesus Christ, by everything he did. Those he chosen calls, they say,
we're so thankful that salvation is not dependent on my faithfulness,
but rather is dependent upon the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. What he did, because he did it
perfectly. Look at first Thessalonians five
verse 23, and the very God of peace sanctify you holy. You know what that word sanctify
means? It means set apart and made holy. That sounds like what
we've been reading, isn't it? That God chose you, called you,
he set you apart and then he was faithful for you. And it
says, and the very God of peace in verse 23, sanctify you holy
and I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful
is he. that calleth you," doesn't say
faithful is he who called him or chose him, no, who called
you who also will do it, will do it. Turn to Romans 23. Him doing it all, I'm not against
that. I'm all for that. God's people
are not against that. If that is what and in whom we
believe, then we're with Him. We're with Him. We're one with
Him. We're not against Him, but with Him. Look at Romans 3 verse
23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. By nature, we're all against
him, but being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation,
a substitute through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier." That's
the one time this word is used in all the scripture and there's
no more precious truth. That he might be just. You know
how he's just? He can't condemn an innocent
person. And you know who we are in Christ? We are innocent. He's
done the work on our behalf. He's done it faithfully. That
he might be just and the justifier. How did he justify us? He lived
perfectly and then he died for us. He took our sin and put it
away, never to be mentioned, seen or heard from again. And
he's the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. You know
what believing in Jesus Christ is? I'm with him. I'm with him. I'm not against
whatever he says. I'm not against that. I'm with
him. I'm with him. God's people are chosen, called,
and faithful, and they rejoice evermore. Turn over to just last
scripture here, turn to Romans 8. Have we ever had the thought, I'm sorry, I've had this and
maybe you have too. It just seemed like the whole
world's against me. Ever had it going that way? Just
seemed like the whole world is against me. Hmm. The truth is they are. If you're
with Christ, they're against you. They are against you. Absolutely against you. They
don't even know why they're against you. Why? They're out of their
head. Don't get upset with them. They're just like what we used
to be. Out of our minds. Whole head is sick. Why are they against us? If we're
with Christ, they're against us. They're against us. And our
Lord even deals with this situation. Here's the comfort. Look at Romans
8 verse 31. What do we say to these things
about being chosen, called, and faithful? If God be for us, who
can be against us? The next time we have that thought,
the whole world's against me, against me. They are. If you're
with Christ, they are against you. But here's the comfort. He, if God be for us, who can
be against you? It doesn't matter. It does not
matter that they're against us. Here's how this is all going
to end. All men, all women are going to arrive at the judgment
of God. And when men arrive, one of the
two things is said, a name is called. And our Lord said, this
is what men will say. They'll say, Lord. I did this and I did that. Lord,
I prophesied. Lord, I cast out devils. Lord,
I did many wonderful works. You know, his response is, I
never knew you. I never chose you. I never called
you. I never was faithful for you.
Depart from me. Depart from me. You were against
me. You were not with me. That's
one of the two things that happens. When God's people get there and
the name is called, you know what they say? Nothing. Nothing. What can I say? If it's dependent on what I've
done, I'm guilty. I'm guilty. I deserve what that
last fellow got. That's what I deserve. But you
know what our Lord says? He says, that one, that one's
with me. That one's with me. He never was against me. He's
with me. And then we can say, I'm with
him. I'm with him. Finally, I'm with
him. You know, in this life, it's
like, yeah, we're with him. We're for him. We're with him.
We're not against him. But the day's coming where we'll
actually be with him. There's all the difference in
the world. When one of my grandchildren calls me, says, Pop, I love you. I like that. Grateful for that. But boy, when I come out the
door and here comes one of them running and leaps in my arm and
says, Pop, I love you. I'm really with them, really
with them. And that day's, to the young,
that seems a long way out there. It's not so long as we think,
folks. Thank God he chose the people,
and he called them, and he keeps them faithful. May the Lord bless
his word. Dwight, do you have a closing
hymn?