I know there's some, myself included, who are pretty distressed over
the way that things of this world are going nowadays. It seems
like it just waxes worse and waxes worse and waxes worse. People have made truths to be
lies, and they've made lies to be truths. But folks, I tell
you this, we are very, very blessed, you and I, to have been given
this great gift to be brought up and to have dwelt here in
this very land where we live. You know, I was looking at the
Constitution to the United States this morning, written by our
forefathers that brought this country together. I don't know how many times we
haven't read the whole thing yet, but in the very first paragraph
it mentions God. And I don't know where those
men stand on the truth of God, but I do know this, that they
mention God in the very Declaration of Independence that we have. There's a lot of countries in
this world we don't want to have anything to do with God at all,
and they'll kill you for it. What a blessing it is that you
and I have been brought up in this land in a time and an age. A blessing to be one with the
people of this land, the American people. We are a people who come
from many backgrounds, many different countries, but now we are an
American people. Our forefathers who built this
great land were blessed by the Almighty in building this land
to what it is today. And it is not my intent to argue
the politics of raising up this nation of people, but rather
to speak to you about the one who raises up all nations. And
he tears them down according to his purpose. He rose up Egypt
to be the most powerful nation in all the world. so that he
could show his hand of power to the world, and he took them
out. Whoosh. Those walls of water
came down over the top of the armies of Egypt, and they were
all dead, floating on the beaches of the Red Sea. Our Lord says in John chapter
1 verse 1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The Word. This wonderful little book, and
it really is, if you think about all the wondrous things that
are in it, just a little book. A little letter to you and I,
to the people of God, to those who God has loved from before
the world was. The Word. God Almighty. In the beginning was the Word,
the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by Him, and without Him was not made anything that was made.
And the Word was made flesh, in verse 14, and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and full of truth. He shall be
called Emmanuel." You know what that word means? It means God
with us. Jesus Christ. God in the flesh. Matthew 121, we read it this
way, and she shall bring forth a son that shall call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people. Did you notice what it
said there? Did you catch that? It says,
for he shall save his people. Why is that important? Folks, there are people who are going to go to hell. And we all deserve that. Each and every one of us have
walked the path of sin. The only reason we have any claim
to righteousness this day is because our Lord was made sin
for us. Think about that. If God in the flesh was made
sin for the whole world, then the whole world would be saved.
But He didn't. He said, for he shall save his
people." It is my hope this morning that the Lord will speak to sinners. I'm not a well-learned man. As I mentioned in Bible study,
I consider myself to be the least when it comes to knowledge of
what scriptures say, what they mean, But I am a sinner. And I know I'm a sinner. It's what I have to share with
you this morning. Same thing I have to share with
you every Sunday. It's a personal thing. It's the personal love and mercy
that God has for His people. Those who are saved by Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. It's a personal thing with me.
I pray that it's a personal thing with you. Because people are going through
this world left and right who know a whole lot of stuff about
what's in this book, but have no personal experience
of salvation. who have no idea what it means
personally to be that one in the corner crying out, Lord have
mercy on me. And then to find out He does
have mercy on us. If you are one who is working
out your own righteousness, exercising your so-called free will, making
a decision, turning over a new leaf, being a better person,
smarter than you were yesterday, today's message will probably
be nothing more than foolishness to you. But if you're a sinner,
if God has shown you the depth of your depravity, I got a message
of good news for you. It's called the gospel. It's
called the Gospel of Christ and Him Crucified. Jesus Christ,
a man and God coming to this earth. making himself, humbling
himself to be a servant. You know, I've said this in a
message not too long ago. You would think, and this is
what the Jews thought, the return, the Messiah would be all dressed
in magnificent garb, be wearing all these wonderful king's clothes
and come back with all the power and wipe everybody else out and
say, now the Jews are above everything. Restore them to their glory,
is what Scripture says, when they were strong and going around
conquering all the lands around them. We see Christ with a towel wrapped
around His waist, humbled, washing the feet of those that He loves. That's you and I. That's the people of God. That's
the very ones that He said, He shall save His people. My people. Luke 5 verse 32, we read this,
our Lord in His own words speaking, He says, I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Are there sinners here today?
He who hath an ear, let him hear. Oh, how I pray that you may have
ears to hear. There are only two different
peoples that walk this earth. There are dead. There are those
who are dead in trespasses and sin, following their path to
destruction. And there are those who were
dead in trespasses and sin. and now have been made alive."
In other words, quickened, as it says in the Scriptures. Quickened
in the Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord, a people who will spend
eternity in His holy presence. Are you with me in Ezekiel chapter
11? Look with me, if you would, verses
16 through 20. Therefore saith the Lord God, Although I have cast them afar
off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the
countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary." That
means a little bit of peace when they're in the times of trouble.
Many were thrown in prisons and stuff, and our Lord was a sanctuary
to them in that prison, just as He was a sanctuary to Peter
when Peter was taken to prison. We were talking about how it
must have been. Peter must have heard that James had been killed.
I don't know about you, but I'd been laying there between those
guards, scared. Yet by God's grace He comes and
He gives us a sanctuary, knowing that He rules all things. He
says, as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall
come. Verse 17, Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God, Now
I want to stop there for a second. Thus saith the Lord God. Not
John Reeves, not some man standing in a pulpit, but the Lord God
to His people. To you, if you belong to the
Lord Jesus Christ. If your name was written down
in the Book of Life before the world was, as Scripture says.
If you are one who God has loved with an eternal love, He's speaking
to you. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
even gather you from the people and assemble you out of the countries
where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land
of Israel. And they shall come hither and
shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations
thereof from since, and I will give them one heart. And I will
put my new spirit within you. And I will take the stony heart
out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh that they
may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and do them. And
they shall be my people and I will be their God." But there's a warning that comes
with this very thing. But as for them whose heart walketh
after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations,
I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord
God. My people, he says. Oh, for the
grace of God to be his chosen people. We all deserve His wrath,
we all have earned His judgment, we have all sinned and come short
of the glory of God, yet He has chosen to be merciful to some. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful to. But there's a warning that comes
after that, and I will harden, He says. Look over at chapter 37. Turn
over to chapter 37. Most of you are very familiar
with these words here in Ezekiel 37. This is the story of the valley of
dry bones, where the Lord tells the prophet to go into the valley
and preach. And then He sends the wind of
life upon those that are preached to, and He brings skin and everything
onto the bones. He raises up a large army, as
he says in verse 11 of 37. Then he said unto me, Son of
man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they
say our bones are dried and our hope is lost, we are cut off
from our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord, Behold, O my people. Now look at verses 16 through
20. I don't know, I'm sorry, we were
at 12 through 14. Oh my people, I will open your
graves. This is in verse 12. Oh my people,
I will open your graves and cause you, now did you hear that? And
cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the
land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the
Lord when I have opened your graves. O my people, and brought
you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and
ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall
you know that I, the LORD, have spoken it, and performed it,
saith the LORD." Now I ask you, Did you notice
the decree we just read there? I know that when I came to the
Lord, it was because He was drawing me. It was very clear. Some our Lord
is pretty clear with on things. That was one thing that He was
so clear to me with. I was not seeking God when I
came to this building. But God had caused every single,
including the lights that turn green and turn red on my way
here. He had caused. I will cause you to come up out
of your graves. I wasn't looking for the Lord.
I wasn't making some decision. It's the same power that called
Lazarus out of the grave. Lazarus come forth and he came
forth, still wrapped and bound in his grave clothes. It wasn't
until after he was all the way out and before the Lord, when
the Lord turned to somebody and said, loose him. It's the same power that God
used when He called the disciples along the seashore. He said,
come, follow me. And we read three times where
they got up and they left all and followed Him because the
power of God was behind those words. Our Lord says in His decree,
I will cause. I will open your graves, He says. I will cause you to come up out
of them. He says, I will bring you into
your own land. I will put my spirit in you. It is I, the Lord, which will
do these things. And folks, I'll tell you, when
these things are done, you shall know who the Lord is. I've mentioned this before, I'll
mention it again, and I pray I have the opportunity to mention
it over and over and over again. But the one thing that stood
out most to me when I heard the true gospel was that there is
a God who deserves to be called God. Not some weakling who's waiting
around for me to do something, but somebody who loved me so
much, and the day of His love, He called me out of that darkness
that I once walked in. Is that the way with sinners? When those things are done, we
shall know who He is, the Lord, and that the Lord hath spoken
it and performed it." Folks, a child of the Most High is likened
to a man that was once blind. Listen to these words in Ephesians
2, verse 1. I'll read it for you. And you
hath He quickened, it says, who were dead in trespasses and sin. Listen to these words. Listen
to them. Do they describe you? Do they describe you in the flesh? Where in times past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience? And our Lord says to you and
I, among whom also you, John, we all had our conversations
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. We were blind. But when the Lord shows you how
blind you were, You have eyes to see. And you
can see the truth of what that is. And in doing so, He takes
us in that blindness, in that new sight, and shines His light
in our hearts. The light of our Savior, Jesus
Christ. But God, it says next. who is
rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us even when
we were dead in sins, and hath quickened us together with Christ.
For by grace are ye saved, and hath raised us up together, and
made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Jesus Christ. In John 17, verse 9 and 10, our
Lord says this. He says, I pray for them. I pray
not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for
they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine, and I am glorified in them. We're talking about
the people of God. My people, He calls us. These
are promises that are made to certain people, not the whole
of mankind, but to a specific group that he calls my people. A people spread throughout time,
a people that are spread throughout all nations, a people who are
spread throughout all tongues. Well, who are these people? Am
I one? Am I seed that has been cast
out onto dry ground? Will I go to church and just
hang out? Mom is sitting with us today
and she'll verify this. John Reeves used to go to church
once a year. I shared this with the folks
Friday night. We were looking at the Sower, the Parable of
the Sower. And I used to go to church once a
year make my mom feel better. As I look back now, I'm sure
there was no good feelings about it for her. Because she knew he's just here to make me feel good. That's
not what she wanted. She wanted the Lord to speak
to my heart. I was what you would call a wayside hearer. I just showed up and some guy
would be speaking up there in the front and I'd be letting
him talk and as soon as he's done talking, love you mom, I'm
out of here. Right mom? Yeah. I don't want to be a seed that's cast
into the shallow ground and sprout up. And then as soon as the trial
comes along, I wither away. Or even worse, I don't want to
be a thorny ground here. The one I'm most worried about
is that as somebody who loves the Lord or seems to love the
Lord for a while, or even maybe in a long time, and then the
things of this world overtake. I want God to turn. And keep turning. It's not a
one-time thing, folks. It didn't just happen 20 years
ago sitting there in that pew. It has to happen all the way
until I leave this world and go home to be with the Lord.
Turn the soil of my heart. Make that seed good. Not by what's
in this flesh, but in Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's the good seed. Put Him in me. I know the world's
not going to see it. They didn't see Him when He walked
this earth. And that's fine. Turn me, Lord, and I shall be
turned. Am I one of His people? Turn
over to the 10th chapter of John if you would. John chapter 10. I can tell you this with a certainty
folks. While you're turning to chapter 10, let me read from
chapter 6, verse 37. We read these words in familiar
words with all of you. I speak them in almost every
message. It says, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down, says my Savior,
I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the
will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which hath sent me, that all which He hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again the last day. This
is the man of all power, in heaven and earth and under the earth,
saying, I shall lose none. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, am I one of them? Am I one of His people? Am I
a good soil here? One that the Lord has churned
the soil of my heart, cutting away the old stone and giving
me a heart of flesh to see this? To believe on Him that we may
have everlasting life? He says, I will raise Him up
the last day. There's the good news. In Jeremiah
31.3 we read this, The Lord hath appeared unto me old, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore,
with lovingkindness I have drawn thee. His people. My people, He calls
us. He's speaking to national Israel. A picture of all His chosen people
throughout all of time. Just as the valley of dry bones
was a picture of the whole house of Israel, He's talking about
all of His sheep. Are you with me in the 10th chapter
of John? Look at verses 23-30. And Jesus,
walking in the temple of Solomon's porch, then came the Jews round
about Him and said unto Him, How long dost Thou make us to
doubt, if Thou be the Christ? Tell us plainly. And Jesus answered,
He says, I told you, and you believed not. The works that
I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. But ye believe
not, because ye are not of My sheep. As I said unto you, My
sheep, My people, Israel, hear My voice. And I know them, and
they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. The
sheep are those who hear His Word and believe. We read this
in John 3.16, "...for God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whosoever..." Who are the whosoever? My people
are the whosoever. Every picture of a lame, deaf,
dumb, Person in Scripture that was
healed, sick person in Scripture that was healed is a picture
of us, His people. We all were sick, dead in trespasses
and sin, yet He loved us and gave His only begotten Son that
we would live in Him. Are you one of His people? Pastor, am I one of His people? Well, I can tell you this. If
you are, you will believe His Word. Not just bits and parts. Not just those little things
that make you feel good. For God so loved the world. People grab on to that and come
up with all kinds of things that make them feel good. And they
completely skip over the whosoever. They completely skip over the
scripture that says, my people. If you're one of His, you'll
believe it all. If you're one of His, you'll
believe these words in Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. Well, I used to be that way. I'm not that bad anymore. I stopped
doing those things. Now I'm being a much better person. No. God's people believe that
that's still our case unless we're in Christ Jesus. If you're
a child of God, one who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, you
will believe His Word where it says in Romans 3.11, there is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Oh, wait a minute now, don't
tell me that! I had to get away from that stuff in my life and
change my life around for my children's sake. So I started
going to church on Sundays. I was seeking the Lord. I found
Him. I can tell you this, that if you're
a child of God, one who belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll
believe these words from God Almighty out of His own mouth,
where He said in John 6, verse 44, No man can come to Me except
the Father which hath sent Him. Draw him. Or maybe these words in Romans
9.16 where it says, So then it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Do you believe
who He is? Do you believe who He is as it
says in Isaiah 9.6, for unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given, and the government shall be on His shoulders, and
His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Or what about these words that
we just read a moment ago in John chapter 10, verse 29, My
Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father
are one. Or maybe this one, 1 John 5,
7, For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. There's a whole religion out
there who likes to deny that one. God's people believe his word. The God of glory became flesh. I'm sorry, I skipped some part
here. Do you believe what he did? Look with me, if you would,
at a few pages to the right, chapter 19 of John. John chapter
19 of this very book. Do you believe what He did? We saw in God's Word of who He
is. Look with me now, chapter 19,
verses 28 through 30. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, I thirst. Now there was said a vessel full
of vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar, and put
it upon Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. And when Jesus therefore
had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. Do you believe what the Lord
Jesus Christ did? He put away sin. He put away, He saved His people. And here's a good phrase for
you. You're going to like this one. If you're a sinner, if you're
a sinner and you have been brought to the belief, to the true faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, according to His Word, this is going to
be good for you. He has saved us to the uttermost. That's not a word we use much
around in these days, so it might not be fully understood. You
know what underboss means? Picture a line that goes from
east to west. You can't get it. It won't stop. It just keeps going. When you
get all the way as far as you can to the east, all of a sudden,
east is over there, and you just got to keep on going. So you
get all the way as far as you can, you think you can, to the
west, and the line just keeps right on going. It keeps going
west. Uttermost. That's good news for John, because
John's a big sinner. Is that good news for you? The
blood of Jesus Christ has put away sin. He has saved you to
the uttermost, if you are His people. The God of glory became flesh
for this very purpose, to glorify Himself through His mercy in
saving His people. Do you believe where He is right
now and what He's doing right now? In Hebrews 10 verse 12 we
read this, but this man, speaking of our Lord and Savior, after
He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at
the right hand of God. He is a rose. Death couldn't
hold God. He has the keys to everything.
Everything belongs to Him. Did He die? Absolutely. He had to. He had to put away
the sin of His people. If He had to put away the sin
of His people, we couldn't be with God, because you know He's
holy, and God is holy. He can't have anybody around
Him who's not holy. He who knew no sin had to be
made sin and take that sin into the grave and die because death
are the wages of sin. And then a raise. Like he said,
I must go to Jerusalem, be beaten, be persecuted, and then I must
arise the third day. He arose, sat down at the right
hand of God, our great King, our great High Priest, our Mediator,
is interceding on behalf of His people right this very moment.
His elect, those for whom He has loved with an everlasting
love, a people that He will have for Himself. He has loved them,
Paul tells us it this way in Romans chapter 8 verse 29, 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, whom he called, them he also justified,
and whom he justified, them he also glorified." What shall we
say to these things? If God before us, who can be
against us? Do you believe God? Lord, I believe,
but I'm weak in the flesh. Lord, help thou my unbelief.
If the Lord has loved you from the foundation of the world,
you will believe these words. He says it so. He says so perfectly. It's clear. It can't be misinterpreted. It
can only be ignored. And if it's ignored, it's ignored
by those who don't belong to him. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them. And they follow
me. One of the best examples of advice
that I could give a young couple that was moving away to Texas. What should we look for in a
church, John? I said, Go to wherever you think,
wherever the Lord leads you to go, listen to what they say,
and if they're not preaching the truth, you'll get up and
walk out. Folks, you belong to God. Did you hear that? You belong
to God. And if you belong to Him, no
man is going to pluck you out of His hand. No man, John Reeves,
is not going to pluck himself out of God's hand. I may think
I'm doing something. Oh yeah, I'm going this way.
Jonah thought he was running from God. He was running right
where God wanted him to go. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand." I'll close with these thoughts. What is it to know? What is it
to know that I'm one of His people? It's to know the love of God
for me. It's to know that I don't deserve
that love. I can't buy that love. I can't
do something to earn that love. It's to know that He has loved
me despite me. Are you a sinner? Are you experiencing the love
of God for you and your heart? Well, I've chosen a song to close