Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. This should
be, if God blesses it, a very helpful and encouraging message
to many. Romans chapter 8, I want to read
verses 28 through 33 with you. Romans 8, 28 through 33, and
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom he did foreknow, or
forelove, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he, Christ, might be the firstborn among
many brethren. And 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 shall we then say to these things? If
God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own
son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with
Christ also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." God's elect. Are you one of them? God's elect. God's predestinated
people whom he did foreknow or forelove or forechoose, he did
predestinate, elect, predestinated. Are you one of them? The Scriptures
also talks about these people being put in a book, their names
being recorded in a book which is called the Lamb's Book of
Life. written and recorded before the
foundation of the world, God's elect, God's predestined ones,
to be like Christ and behold His glory. Is that you? Would you like to know? Do you
want to be? Are you at all interested? Let
me see some people in here that are interested. That's who I
want to preach to this morning. That's who I want to preach to.
Am I one of them? I'm interested. I want to know. Can I know? Can we know? Most certainly. How? How can we know? Verse 30 will
serve as a text. Whom he did predestinate, them
he also called. The call of God. It's clear. certain the call of God upon
all these that he predestinates. The call. You may know your election
by this calling. You can't see the book. You can't
see that book with names in it, can you? You've never seen it. Someday you may. After it's been
opened and read, maybe he'll let you see it. This book, you can see what it
says, can't you? You may know your election by
this calling. Now, the call of God is what
I'm talking about this morning. Are you interested? The two basic
calls that the Scriptures teach us and every great preacher down
through the years has clearly seen and expounded. Two basic calls. One is a general
call to all flesh. A general call. The Scripture
says many are called. The many are called. Many have
a Bible. You know, the possession of a
Bible is the call of God. It's a general call. It's the
Word of God that calls men to repentance and faith. You're
about to hear the gospel this morning. It's the call. It's
the general call of God—creation. Paul wrote about it in Romans
1. He said, everyone is without
excuse. They've all heard the call of
creation. They've seen the hand of God.
His mighty power and His Godhead should be known by all men and
women. Everyone has received. Nobody
is without excuse. They've all been called in that
way. That's a general call. Many called, but most reject
the call. Most people reject it. And that's
the reason all men are to blame for their condemnation. Don't
blame God. No one will be able to blame
God because they were not saved. They blame themselves. for rejecting
this general call. Right? As we said there in Proverbs
1, because I called and you what? Refused. Is that right? Can't blame God. We say, He didn't
elect me. You rejected Him. You say that's unfair. This is
unfair. No, God has fairly called all
flesh. Yes. God is fairly called all
flesh. They're without excuse. But there's
a second call. Thank God. Well, you see, we
all rejected that first call by nature, didn't we? Everyone
rejects that call by nature. We grow up sons of wrath even
as others, don't we? Rejecting, seeing the hand of
God clearly, but rejecting it. I won't have God. I'm not interested
in God. I'm interested in me. I'm interested in sin. I'm interested
in the world, not God. Who cares about God? Oh, when
I get old and maybe ready to die, then I'll give God a little
thought. Right? That's everyone by nature. Everyone. But thank God there's another
call that comes. Thank God God comes calling twice. That second call is what we refer
to as the effectual call. a particular call, a specific
call to individuals. He calls all men generally, like
this mass. I'm preaching this to everyone
in here. Only God can preach it to one in here in such a way
that one person says, God spoke to me. Well, I speak to everyone. God speaks to individuals. It
is factual. He said, Many are called, but
what? Few are chosen. Few are chosen
to hear. He said, They have ears, but
they don't hear. Everybody in here has ears this morning, but
only a few are chosen to hear. The other ones, minds and whatever,
whatever reason. A few here, a few are giving
hearts. He said they all have hearts.
We all have hearts in here at Oman. God has, only God can give
a heart to receive the gospel. A new heart. He said, I'll give,
he said, this is a new covenant. I'll give them a new heart. All
my people, everybody's got a hard, stony heart by nature to the
word of God's foolishness. I don't need that. God gives
some people a new heart to receive. It's broken by it, touched by
it, to believe and respond. This call, the call of God is
like awakening a man from the dead, because that's what we
are by nature. That's the reason, try as I may,
there's some in here who are just not going to be touched
with the message. I can scream, I can cry, I can
Whatever. A man, not me, any man can stand
up and preach the greatest gospel message ever heard by human ears,
only to fall on some that are unmoved, untouched, unfeeling,
uncaring. Why? Why is that? We're dead,
by nature. Dead. You can scream, John, you
can go down to the graveyard and scream all you will at a
dead man, he's not going to hear you, is he? They're not going to hear you.
Lazarus, there was a man our Lord loved dearly named Lazarus. He and his family. And it says
that one day Lazarus died, John 11, and the Lord came to where
he was buried. And by the time the Lord had
gotten there, in four days he had laid in this grave. And this
was before embalming fluids and and all of that. No modern means
to preserve the body. Four days after a few hours,
the body begins to decay and corrupt and stink and smell. Four days, it's absolutely putrefying. Four days in a hot, mid-eastern
climate, laying in a grave, a damp, dark grave, the Lord comes to
where this man was. And his sister, as much as she
wanted him alive, said, Lord, he's hopeless. He's dead. And by now, he's stinking. He'd
been dead a long time, and he's stinking. But, now with man,
it's impossible. Try as you may, talk to that
man as you may, plead with him as you may, holler as loud as
you may, say what you may, he's not going to hear you. But when
the Lord of Glory comes by now, and he calls, Lazarus, roll a
door back, roll a stone back. Oh, but Lord, I said roll a stone
back. Okay. Lazarus, come forth. And he that had been dead came
forth. I said, what a miracle. That's
less a miracle than this thing of salvation. We've been dead
a long time. Some of us in here were dead
for 20, 30, 40, 50 years, dead in trespasses and
sin. When you die, you know, worms
begin to gnaw. Your body's going to be eaten
with worms. You know, it's an awful thought, isn't it? But
it's so. They're going to get at you and
eat your body. Well, the worms of lust and pride
and evil and hatred and sin have eaten these bodies up, some of
them for years. It looks hopeless, doesn't it?
Huh? Looks hopeless. You know, Lord, He's been dead
a long time. I can't touch him, I know that,
but I can. Sinner! Come forth, come to me."
That's whose voice it's going to take, isn't it? To call forth
a dead sinner from the grave. Man is very much alive to sin,
but he's dead to God. Man is very powerful to reject
God. He's powerless to accept Him.
Believe him. Trust him. Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus went about the
land, hailing men and women into jail, rejected God and handed
down this gospel that way. He said, I persecuted that way,
even unto death. And he went about very zealous,
vehemently opposed to the truth, didn't he? Tooth and nail. Hated
it. Hated it. He's very powerful to reject
the gospel. And it may have been a time,
we don't know. Some men may have spoken to Saul. Terry, some men may have spoken
to him. Maybe Peter, James, or John, or somebody's spoken to
him before. Maybe he'd heard this message before. You know
what? Now, Saul, you're going to die. You're going to perish
if you persist in this way of yours. And Jesus Christ is your
only hope of salvation. You better bow to—He's Lord,
too. You're in His hands, and you're going to perish by His
hands someday. You better bow to this sovereign Lord. That's
be done with you. Get them out of here. Get them
out of my way, Paul would say, Saul would say. Get these out
of here before I send them to jail, too." But one day, Christ Himself came
calling, didn't He? Just took one word, Job. And he came down off that high
horse and hit the dust. Lord! He'd been dead a long time. He'd been rejecting the gospel
a long time, hadn't he? He'd been rebelling against the
God and the truth a long time. Some say he was fifty years of
age when God saved him. Man gets old and set in his ways,
Henry. It's hard to get him out of it,
isn't it? Isn't anything too hard for the
Lord? That's what it's going to take.
That's what it's going to take. The call of God. Not the call
of the preacher. The call of God. Effectual, powerful,
finding a dead, hopeless sinner and calling him back to life.
Come forth. Come forth. A man may resist
so long, but if God hath predestinated him, if God hath foreknown him,
if God hath foreloved him and forechosen and elected him, when
God calls him, that over is a coming. He's coming. Resist as He may,
He's coming. Now, I like that. I don't know
why anybody would reject that. Do you? Huh? The irresistible
call? Because if He hadn't called me,
I never would have called on Him. See, all those that call
on Him, He said, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. In Romans 10, 13, doesn't it?
Who's going to call? Joel 2.32 says, "...a remnant
whom the Lord our God shall call." The only ones that are ever going
to call are the ones that God has called first. You see? Don't
you like that? You'd have never called on Him,
Joe. You'd be out there. You'd be waiting on Bolin's hot
dog stand to open up. So you'd have you a beer and
a dog. Right? Huh? who is rich in mercy
came calling one day. Joe Parks, I got better things
for you, buddy. Come. You're coming to Christ.
We're going to look at this call here. And that person will repent,
will believe it's a sovereign call. Romans 9, turn over one
page there. It's a sovereign call. It's effectual.
In other words, everyone he calls will come. Everyone he calls will come.
It's effectual and it's sovereign. He calls whom he will. He doesn't
have to call anybody. Tracy, he doesn't have to call
you. Why you? You're just like anybody else
out there. Undeserving. Gospel hating. Church hating.
God's people hating. Bible hating. Just like anybody. Why in the world did he call
you? Huh? What's he need with her? What's he need with me?
Huh? What's he need with any of us?
He doesn't need it. He doesn't need anybody, does he? Bless
God, he calls some people. And he's sovereign. He chooses
whom he will. You got any problem with that? I don't have any problem
with that. I can see that clearly. God doesn't
have to call, but he does. And he calls whom he will. One
day there was a little fellow named Zacchaeus. A little fellow
named Zacchaeus, one day, the Lord was walking down through
a vast multitude of people. He was preaching. He was talking.
There were high dignitaries and politicians and well-known people
surrounding him. You know, everybody knew this
great teacher from Galilee, and everybody swore unto him wherever
he went. Everybody wanted to rub shoulders with him and try
him and talk to him and this and that. And a vast crowd of
people around him whom he was talking to, he stopped in his
tracks. Walking along, and he stopped in his track and up a
tree. was a little fella whom everybody
hated. I don't know that he did this,
but no, I don't believe he did. But if he had, say, who's that?
Oh, that's Zacchaeus. Come on, Lord, let's go on. Don't
stop here. He's a despicable little fella.
He's a publican. He's a sinner. He's a rotten
oak. You don't need him. What do you need with Zacchaeus? Come now. Today I must abide
at your house." All those people! He stopped for one little miserable
fellow up a tree and called in. Why? That was the son of Abraham. That was one of his elect whom
the great shepherd of the sheep, one of his sheep that he had
come from eternity past to call. Huh? Came all this way to call
that one little fellow up a tree. I didn't plan this, but I'll
get and tell it anyway. Spurgeon had a preacher's class,
and he said often he would try these young men, their ability
to extemporize or deal with a passage of Scripture extemporaneously
or without study, meditated study and so forth. He would give them
texts of scripture and make them stand up and talk about it. He'd
talk to them. He'd, Joseph, stand up here and
tell us about the woman at the well. Preach us a little message
about the woman at the well. And he'd stand up. And it was
one little fellow, real short of stature. Spurgeon may have
had a real affinity to this fellow because Spurgeon was only five
foot four and weighed about almost 200 pounds. Little rotund fellow. That means fast, what no time
means. Anyway, he may have had a real kinship to these short
preachers. But he said to this little short
preacher, he said, Matthew, stand up and tell us about Zacchaeus. The fellow, you know, of course,
as I would if I called on to speak without preparation. And
he stood up and said, well, Zacchaeus was short. He said, so am I. And he said, Zacchaeus was up
a tree. He said, so am I. He said, Zacchaeus
came down, and so will I. Spurgeon gave him an A on that. Well, we're up a tree. And we're
short. We're nothing. We're nobody.
We're little in God's eyes. But if you see your calling,
brethren, don't you? Nothings, nobodies, despised,
despicable, hated, who hate God and are hated by God for our
nature. God comes calling Zacchaeus.
Doesn't need them, does He? No, they sure need Him. He comes
calling them. Zacchaeus, come down. Sinner,
come down, and I'll lift you up. I'll lift you up. I'll lift
you up. Not many mighty are called, not
many noble. But God has chosen the weak things.
Calls effectual and calls sovereign. He chooses whom he wills. Zacchaeus,
come down. Saul, come down off your high
horse. Peter, James, John, follow me.
Fisherman, nobody. Woman at the well. Woman, go
call your husband. That's who he called. That's
why he called. For his glory, that no flesh
should glory in his presence. He calls nobody. He calls sinners.
You know, sometimes this call is unknown at first. The call
of God is sometimes unknown at first. You remember the story
of young Samuel with Eli? The Lord was calling Samuel. Samuel. He did this three times. Samuel. Samuel jumped up and
ran into where Eli, the old preacher, was and said, You call me? Eli
said, No, I didn't call you. Go back to bed. I think Samuel
had an idea right from the start to call. Samuel went back to
bed, and he laid there a little while. Samuel, the Lord called.
Samuel jumped up, went into Eli. The preacher said, Did you call
me? The preacher said, No, I didn't call you. Go back to bed. And
it may be someone else calling you. Third time, God said, Samuel. Finally, Samuel heard. Lord,
it's you then. It's you then. When God begins
a work in the heart of some sinners, it's not always clear at first.
It's not always clear at first to them that it is God that's
calling. They may go out of a service
thinking it was the preacher, thinking it was a man. And they
may say, well, that was a good sermon. The preacher was speaking
straight to me. No. It was God. Right? And they may come twice.
And they may come 22 times. But if it's God's calling, one
of these days, they're going to hear that it's God's calling. Right? It's God's calling. Finally,
the Lord says, it's not that man speaking to you, sinner.
It's me. Now listen up. Do you want to
know if you're called? All right, here's some characteristics
of that call. All right? I told you that call
is effectual. In other words, everybody he
calls, they come. It's sovereign. He calls whom he will. He doesn't
have to call anybody, but thank God he calls some. And thirdly,
sometimes when he calls, men don't realize it at first, but
they will eventually. Here's some characteristics.
Turn over to 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, and I'll hurry through this,
I promise you. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, turn over
there. I hope you're interested by now.
These are definite characteristics of this call of God, the way
in which he calls all of his people, all of them. These are
characteristics whereby you may know it's God calling you." Huh? Ain't that ought to arouse your
attention? Shouldn't it? Oh, I want to know. I want to
be one of the elect. Don't you? Look at 2 Timothy 1, verse 9. It's God who hath saved us. Oh, verse 8. I can't leave that
out, can I? Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord," that's the gospel of our Lord,
"...nor of me, his prisoner. Be a partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel, which is according to the power of God." We read
that in 1 Corinthians, didn't we? The power of God, the gospel
is God's power, which he uses to call us, to save us. Who has
saved us? Who saved us? God did, verse
9. Who has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, a holy calling. That's the first thing. It's
a holy calling. And he goes on to describe this
holy calling. It's a calling not according to our works. It's
a holy calling. Our works are filthy rags. This
is a holy calling. We don't take part in it. Huh?
It's a call to holiness. Sanctification. Calling out.
Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. It's not according to our works.
It's a holy calling. It's according to His holiness.
It's according to His Holy Son. It's an imputed holiness. It's not a work that we work.
It's not God calls you and wants you here and we'll get together
and we'll hash these things out and we'll get together and we'll
save you. No, it's God's work. It's a holy calling. And it's
an imputed holiness and an imparted holiness. And if any man trusts
anything, he does. Listen to me. If any man or woman
trusts or feels like there's anything
in them that gives God a reason to save them, God didn't call
on them. This is a holy calling. The Levites
of old didn't have anything to do with what they were called.
They were sinners like the rest of the other tribes of Israel.
God called men out, chose them out, sanctified them, set them
apart, laid down all the orders concerning them, right? It's
a holy calling. We're sinners, Job. There's no
holding the sinners. This is a holy calling. This
is all God's calling. all of His grace, all of His
purpose, all of His holiness. If anybody trusts that anything
about them, in anything about them, other than this holy call, God
didn't call them. God didn't call a man. Not only
is it an imputed holiness, a holy calling, but it's imparted. If
any man continues to live in sin, open sin, he's not called
either. And I said, live now. I didn't
say fall every now and then. See what I'm saying? There's
a difference. I didn't say that God's people don't fall into
sin and sin. We will. Many men say he hath
not sinned. He's a liar. Make the God a liar.
I'm saying living in hope and sin. God changes. God comes calling us to change.
Take a look. Change. If your only hope of
salvation is Christ's person and His work, if your goal is to be like Him
and be done with sin that plagues you, then that's a good sign
that God called you. He doesn't call the righteous
those that are trusting in their own righteousness. He calls sinners
to faith in Christ. Do you trust in Christ and Christ
alone for your salvation? Good sign. Good sign. Mighty good sign. All right,
go on. It says in Philippians 3. You
don't have to turn. It says in Philippians 3 that
we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God. So it's a holy calling. It's
God's work. God's the one that does it. Holy.
Holy. Holy. And a holy calling. calling
to holiness. Secondly, it's a high calling,
high calling, pressed toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. A high privilege and honor,
first of all. It's a high privilege and honor
to be called, huh? Man, and it's a call to higher
pursuits. It is said in Colossians 3, if
then you be risen with Christ. If you are, or since you are,
set your affection, your love, your goal, your pursuit, your
aim, your affections, where? Higher things. Huh? I am resolved no longer to linger.
Things that are higher. See, that's what he does to an
old pig, swine. And he's as happy as a pig in
mud. You ever seen an old pig lying
in slop? and anything you throw his way,
he doesn't. Why? He's worthless, isn't he? Except for a slab of bacon every
now and then. Lying in mud, he's no good to himself, he's no good
to anybody else. Lying there, wallowing in the
mud, that's all he's concerned about. That's man by nature,
isn't it? Wallowing in the slop of this world. Mud, the mire,
the muck, isn't it? God turns them into sheep. Turns
their eyes heaven-wide. to where that they have a higher
vision then. Loftier goals, higher ambitions. Not to climb up the corporate
ladder, climb up Jacob's ladder. Loftier goals, things that are
higher. Who can't get any higher than
Christ, can you? If ye there may risen with Christ,
set your affection, and it's only one that'll set that affection
to that lofty is Christ himself. Lord, set my affection. on things
above. Has He? Are your goals, your
aims, your ambitions, your pursuits, huh? Has He lifted up your hopes,
higher hopes, tastes? Are your tastes running a little
higher way than they used to? Huh? Boy, mine do. Mine sure
do. I don't know. Has this gospel set your affection
on things above rather than things on the earth? Has it? That's
what this high calling is. As it lifts up your heart and
mind to these things, well, things you didn't previously think about,
was there a time when you didn't? You didn't give a flip for this.
As a matter of fact, you made fun of it. Where are you going?
Church. I'm above that. No, you're beneath it. You're
beneath it. You're unworthy, unfit to go
before the presence of God. But did God change your heart
and mind? How about it? Where are you going?
church going to worship the Most High and Holy God, I want to
go. That's what I want to do. Who
made the change? It's His calling. It's His high
calling. It's a high thing. And some of
these days, fancy one of these days, we're going to realize
just how high it is. Take a worm and make him a son
of the Most High. Can't say it now, why? We dwell
among worms. We don't know. We can't see. I haven't seen or have not heard
the things that God has prepared for them. No. It's a call. It's a high calling. No, it's a high calling. It's
a heavenly calling. It says in Hebrews 3, 1, Wherefore
brethren, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
him, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession.
Heavenly calling. It's a heavenly calling. It's
a call from heaven. Like I said, it's not me. I'm
just repeating some of the things that God says in His Word here.
It's a heavenly calling. It's a high calling, calling
the higher things. It's a heavenly calling. Let
me ask you this. This morning, the President of
the United States, Or somebody higher than that
Queen of England called you this morning to have a personal audience
with her. Wouldn't that be a glorious condescension
on her part? Huh? Wouldn't that be a great
thing? Huh? Would you feel honored?
Would you? The heaven calls. God from heaven
calls maggots. Huh? God from heaven calls maggots. I love that verse of Scripture,
John, where the Lord came to Martha and Mary at that time,
and he spoke to Martha, and Martha went back to her sister and said, The Lord God of glory, the Son
of the Most High, He whom angels have praised twenty-four hours
a day, the Son of God Himself come. Margaret, Margaret Torn, the
Son of God has come to master. He calls for thee. And it's a call, it's not only
a call from heaven, a high calling, a holy calling, a call from heaven,
but it's a call to certain people. And they're known by one name,
basically. Sinners. Christ himself, he said, I didn't
come to call the righteous, but sinners. to repent. It's a call to sin. A call to
sin. Now listen to me. You may say
this this morning. Well, I don't know much about
the preacher. I don't know much about what you're talking about.
I'm hearing you, but yet I'm not hearing. You talk about this
holy calling and my need for a holy righteousness and imputed
righteousness and justice satisfied on my account and the blood of
Christ and this gospel business. I believe, I don't rightly understand,
and you talk about this high calling, what a privilege it
is, I just can't see that high. And my vision hasn't, I don't
have much vision, understanding about these things. And this
heavenly calling, I just haven't felt that strong calling like
that, per se. All I know is, man, I'm an old
sinner. What'd you say? And I just feel
like an old sinner all the time. That's all I feel. I don't feel
anything special from God all my life. This is a faithful sinner and
worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, to call sinners. He said, I didn't come to call
the righteous. You see any good in yourself? No, I don't see
any good in myself. You feel like you're an old rotten sinner.
God doesn't need you, but you sure need Him. Yeah, that's exactly
how I feel. Sound like a call to me? Huh? Sound like a call for in the
Scripture? See, I didn't come to call the righteous. Well,
how do I have you know, preacher? I'm not so bad. I'm not as bad
as him down there. No, you're not. No, you're not.
But you're both despicable, vile, wretched sinners. You're not
as bad. You're worse. You're self-righteous, and that
stinks to God. Well, I've been going to church
all my life, and I never miss Sunday school one time. Maybe
you haven't. Well, I'm just not a sinner,
and you're not called either. But for that old, poor, broken-down
person who just sees no good in my hand, no price I bring,
and if God saved me, If I'm saved, God's going to let Satan, Christ's
going to let him do it. I just don't see any hope for
myself because I'm such a rotten sinner. Good. That's where it came to call.
That's where it came to call. Huh? And he grants repentance
to all those. He grants repentance. And you
never stop doing that. Charles Hudson, you never stop
feeling that way about yourself. If you do, buddy, you quit repenting.
Huh? Came up to call the righteousness
sinners to repentance. A one-time thing, where you go
down and accept Jesus, and clean your life up, and from there
on out, you don't need Him? No! A continual repentance. All your life, repent, repent.
He said, pray this. How are we supposed to pray,
Lord? Pray this way. Every time you pray, forgive
us! Right? Forgive us. Forgive us. We've seen it. I've seen it. I say, he grants
repentance to all those. He grants faith. What is faith? Just trust in Christ. That's
all it is, Polly. That's all it is. Nothing more and nothing less
than trusting Christ and Christ alone. Faith. And assurance. You say, I don't have any assurance.
Where are you looking for it? In yourself? Huh? I don't have
assurance because I don't this, I don't that. Where do you say
you're going to find assurance by doing that? But I just don't
feel. Where do you say feelings will
give you assurance? What do you say in Isaiah 55 that will give
assurance? Look unto me, but I'm so unfaithful. Look unto me, I'm faithful. But
I'm a sinner. Look unto me, I'm the holy one.
But I'm rotten. God doesn't need me. If God sees
me, he's going to kick me out for what I... Christ says, look
unto me. God sees me. He beholds me and
everybody that's in me. Look to me. Look unto me and
be ye saved. That's the only place you're
going to find assurance. Not by looking at your faithfulness,
but by looking to the faithful one. Huh? That's what the sheriffs
did, that's what faith did. And Peter said this, it spit
like a call out of darkness into his marvelous light. Do you now see some things that
you didn't see before? Huh? You know, as a young 18,
19, 20 year old boy, I used to think I knew something. I've
told you my story. I get tired of telling it, really.
I don't get tired of telling what great things the Lord has
done for this old rotten wretch. But I don't want to draw attention
to myself, but you're talking about a rebel. The prodigal son
personified, standing in front of you. I remember just thinking
I was so smart. that I was enlightened, that
I knew things my parents didn't know, and I had entered into
a state of real knowledge and discernment about things because
I'd been sitting cross-legged on my roof with my eyes crossed, entering
into oneness. So smart. Thought I saw things. I did. I saw two of everything. Thought I could see clearly.
Right? Hey, wasn't that the sixties
generation? Oh, we see things that past generations didn't
see. And then no one will see quite
like we've seen. You don't see nothing. You're
blind. Blind as a bat. Now I see. First thing I see, John, is just
how much I didn't see. You know? That's the first thing
you'd come to see, was how you don't know nothing. And it's a simultaneous sight.
You see God, how He lifts up who He is, what He's like, from
the Scriptures now. You don't see it anywhere but
from the Scriptures. Either reading it or a man declaring
it to you. Who God is. I used to think God
was some overall pervading spirit that we're all a part of. You
know, we're little selves. He's the great self. And we enter
into finally this state of nirvana and we just meld into this. We
become like God Himself. God is a person. I have gotten
all of my attributes and except sin, that is, all of my abilities
and all from this one higher person than I. Do not think that
God is like unto me or that God is like unto animals. So God
is—the reason you are like you are is because you have created
an image of God. So don't think God's less than you. You can't
move or act or talk or walk or so forth. Now, I see some things now that
I didn't see before. I still don't see clearly, do
we? We still see in part and know
in part, prophesy in part, preach in part. But I've seen this.
I've seen God's glory, something of His glory, His person. I've
seen something of myself. I've seen something of Christ.
And that's the call. That's the call. He leaves everybody
else alone. Those Pharisees who thought they saw, we see. And
He said to them, didn't He say to them, John, there's none so
blind as those who think they see. It's those that will not
see. He said, because you say you
see, your sin remaineth. But he that is blind, his sin
will be taken away. You go and learn what that means. Go and learn what that means. Everybody God comes calling,
He comes to call them to see that they don't see. And that
they do see Christ, who He is. Galatians 5 verse 13 says you've
been called unto liberty, liberty, called to freedom from guilt. Did you hear what the gospel
said to me? They're all taken away. What
is it that play? When my pastor was preaching
here last Sunday, was it last Sunday? Whenever. When he was preaching that message
on justified by faith, I was thinking to myself, running through
my mind was, the thing that plagues the believer, the thing that
gives us the most problem, the thing that constantly bombards
us and gives us all of our troubles is sin. Didn't David say, My
sin has ever before me. This is what bothers me. Did
you hear what he said? Take it away. Their sins and
iniquities, I'll remember no more. And we're going to remember
them. That's what causes us to always
stay in a state of repentance before God. But here's the liberty. You've been cold and liberated,
free from guilt. And God's not mad at you. No,
He's in love with you. You mean God's not going to hold
me accountable for what I have done, what I am doing, what I'm
going to do most surely? No, there's therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Oh, that's liberty, isn't it? That's pretty. Freedom from guilt,
freedom from condemnation, freedom from fear. Do you fear? Do you
fear? There's a difference between
reverential fear and fear of being scared to death. of something. We reference God. We fear God,
but we're not afraid of it. We can come boldly. We can come
confidently. Call Him your Daddy, Father. My daughter respects me and holds
me in high esteem and would dare not offend me or do anything
in rebellion to me yet. But she can come to me with anything. You can call me daddy. That's
the sweetest, you know, that's the sweetest words these years.
These years. Daddy. Emma. That's what God said that his
children can do. Emma! What is it, my child? Third, liberty, freedom of sons,
the freedom of sons to come unto this thrice-holy God and call
Him, Abba, Dad, help. I'll be in every place of help,
ever. And lastly, it's a call to fellowship. He said in 1 Corinthians 1 and
9, He is faithful by whom ye were called into the fellowship
of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. and all thy house into the ark. For thee have I seen righteous
before me in this generation. Sinner, come thou and all thy
house into the ark. For Christ have I seen righteous
before me in your generation." You see that picture of Christ?
Call into the fellowship of Christ. Call into the ark. I love that
story, don't you? Give me about an hour to preach
on Noah's ark. Another hour. Noah's ark of all
the billions of people that were left out of that ark. Noah, come
down in the house. Joe, here you are. Both your
sons and your daughters and your grandchildren. Joe, come down. into Christ. For Christ have
I seen righteous on your behalf in your generation." Oh, man,
he ever lives to make intercession for Joe Parks and his family,
if there is. What a glorious—isn't that a
high calling? Huh? Heavenly calling? Oh, my, an
unworthy calling? Huh? Do you feel the call? You
feel the call. You know, it's like this. Let
me illustrate in closing. Only the elect are called. Only
the elect will be called. But you may know your election
by the Only the left will be caught.
All right? Only the left will be glorified. If you're seeing a boat tied
up in the water, and over here on the shore, you'll see the
rope tied around a moor or a tree or a dock or something. And over here on the boat, you'll
see it tied up. Here's one of the ties apart
the boat. You see the end of the rope.
You see the other end of the rope tied to the dock. I'm tired of it. All those electors, Bison, Jones,
and Custer, and Bison, Jones, and Wilber, and Walker. I ain't
seen my man that good. Except, well, that poor love,
John, is wrecking the wreck of my heart. Huh? He's tired of
this, ain't he? Start pulling and find out. All
right. And that rope rises out of the
water and you'll see written all over it, relax, according
to the four laws of God Almighty. Huh? It's a call. He said, I'll
draw on thee with cords of love, cords of a man. It's a gospel. Huh? Did he last sue you, Deborah,
huh? Is one end of the rope tied on
you? The other end's tied on you.
And if you start pulling, whether you pull or not, it's there.
But until you get some assurance, if you start pressing toward
the mark for the prize, it lacks. And someday you're going to come
in short. You're going to realize you're going to praise Him forevermore
for that election and that glorious caller. Huh? Calling. Whom He did predestinate He called. Brother Joe come up now and lead
us in singing that.