Would you write me in a book
of Jeremiah chapter 33 this morning? 31. 31-3. It's got some threes in it. Well actually, 31.3 is our text
for today. It's such a wonderful verse that
we often go to and we reference all the time in many of our sermons
and lessons. because it expresses something
that's just so wonderful for the people of God. And let me
just read that for you quickly here. In Jeremiah chapter 31,
verse 3, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. What a wonderful verse that is. What comfort to the Lord's people. And it expresses, when we think
about it, it expresses all the elements of the gospel because
it starts with God's eternal love for us and culminates in
his drawing and revealing his son in those whom he loves. So isn't it comforting? and pleasing when someone confides
to us that they deeply love us. Doesn't that just make you feel
good when somebody confides in you? And when we have that from
God Almighty, how much more does that apply to us? And especially
when it's revealed to us in salvation that God loves us, that he has
always loved us and always will love us. and it's so secure and
so stabilizing and it's not, Norman here not too long ago
brought a series on the doctrines of grace and it was, one of them
was on unconditional election or effectual drawing, but it
means not based on, unconditional means it's not based on a condition,
it's not based on a merit, it's not based on performance or what
you did or what you didn't do. And we'll look at some scriptures
reveal that to us. But that's how his love is. It's
eternal. And as he is eternal and his
purposes are eternal, even so is his love to them who are the
called according to his purpose that we read about Romans chapter
8 verse 28. Our text today in Jeremiah 31.3
contains that and so much more. The text is absolute truth and
absolutely valid and absolutely trustworthy because it immediately
follows, if we backed up one verse there, thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord to his, and
he's speaking to his people that are in the wilderness, a metaphor
for being in this world, a people, a remnant who found grace in
the wilderness. Jeremiah 31, 2. So our text again,
the Lord has appeared of old unto me saying, yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. So the one is related to the
other. The best part about it is that
it's personal from God to you. It says, I have loved thee. In
that it goes out to every every one of his children, every one
that's a believer. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Specifically and so inextricably
connected is it that it's really one is one bound together word. I have love is one section and
the everlasting is kind of separated and it's another compound word
that we find in the Bible, the everlasting. The, the Olam Olam,
that's one of the names of God is the everlasting father, Olam
Olam. And so the everlasting means
forever. And, and we tend to think of
forever in time, well, like from now on. Well, with God, there's
no from now on, it's, it's always I am that I am and it's eternal
and in It's not bi-directional, it's multi-directional time in
all ways and all places. It's hard for us to think about
that, but time is that concept that's designed for us. Everybody pointed out to me over
and over again, you're not young anymore. Another trip around the sun,
as they say. Today I'd like to look at a few
wonderful truths that are declared in our text. Every word has spiritual
meaning and reveals so much to us about God and his eternal
love for the church, which is comprised of saved individuals
from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, the Bible tells us.
And as God purposes his word to go out, to all those places,
or to bring some people from those places to somewhere where
his word is. Sometimes we find that is the
case. But it's up to his prerogative, whichever way that happens, but
he will accomplish it for every one of his children. He's not
going to leave anyone behind. Not one of them is lost. One
of the great and grand sovereign truths presented in this text
is that being drawn by the loving kindness of God is predicated
on his everlasting is forever is eternal love. Effectually
directed to the personally and each one of us can that's been
had the sun revealed to us and salvation can say that. And we
find that out and we're kind of like Nicodemus when that happens
and we say how can that be. How can that be. And I've heard
people express it like, how can you love me? I'm pretty nasty. I'm pretty
awful. And what made him love me? Well, he loved you because he
purposed to do so for eternity. And as we find later on in another
point in scripture in Romans, before the children were yet
born, that the purpose of God according
to election might stand. I love this one, but not that
one. So we find that salvation and
redemption are really an eternal process with its beginnings in
God himself in eternity in expressing his eternal love. And we have
kind of trouble grasping that And Mike read a little portion
from John 17 where Jesus is praying to the Father and he's talking
about those believers and he said, Thine they were, thou gavest
them me. And so we find that that's precisely
the way things are. And so everything has its beginnings
in God and his eternal purpose. And many things have been brought
to pass in accordance with that purpose. We find all the circumstances
of history. You know, in one of our lessons
here, I think last week we were talking about in the book of
Daniel, and we went to Matthew chapter one, and we were looking
at some, the genealogy that's listed in chapter one. And we
found a long list of names in there. And some of them were
kings of Israel. And some of them, When you look
them up in First Kings or Chronicles, it says, and they did evil in
the sight of the Lord. And then they had a son that
did even worse than their father did and so on and so forth. But somehow one of their children
or one of their offspring produced someone that their name was written
in heaven and that the Lord had loved with an everlasting love.
And he had caused through all these intricate things that go
on through our expression of time and history and circumstances
to bring about, if we read on down there, it comes out to the
birth of Christ in Matthew 1, 21, I think it is. So all things
working for good, as it says in Romans 8, 28, and nothing
happens that's outside of his purpose there. He works all things
after the counsel of his own will. And in all of these we
find a common denominator. And that common denominator is
eternal love. And everything that follows is
a direct result of that. And even though we find that
sometimes those ones that he has had an eternal love for are
interwoven closely with ones that is not so fond of or Esau
have I hated kind of folks. And we find them interacting
with those and living with them. And Noah in his day and Daniel and all the ones that
we've had records of in the Bible, Joseph and his nasty brothers
that sold him to slavery and threw him in the pit and all
that kind of thing. But we find that that common
denominator of eternal love follows them all through this world until
the time when God reveals his son in them. Everything that
follows is a direct result. The second really great and grand
sovereign truth in this text is that we're drawn by God. He says, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn Drawn by God, drawn by him to the glorious gospel
of his son who died in our place. As we sang in those hymns, he
went to the cross and took our punishment in our place, imputed
righteousness to us who had none of our own and took on himself
our sin and paid that debt. The essence of the gospel. You
know, we think about this drawing and we're drawn like a bucket of
water from a well. That bucket is thrown down into
this deep abyss where there's not much light and you hear the
splash and then the bucket fills with water and then it's drawn
up out of that hole and poured out and dragged up to the surface
to the light. I think you would like that.
drawn up into the light of the glorious gospel of Christ and
water, you know that water would just lay down there in the bottom
of that well forever if it wasn't drawn out. It would never leave its previous
state of darkness on its own because it has no ability, it
has no, it cannot. Drawn because in our old nature,
As Mike pointed out over and over again in the Bible class,
that in our old nature, we despise the riches of His grace. We like
it down there in the dark part. We despise His goodness, His
forbearance, His longsuffering, because we don't know that the
longsuffering, the goodness of God leads us to repentance. He's the one that causes us to
turn from where we were to unto him. And that is that, that drawing
effect of the father. Drawn because in our old nature,
we wouldn't, we wouldn't come. We must be drawn. We're drawn because our scorn
and enmity for God because of sin and the falls of such enormity
that we would rather drown in that dark well of perdition,
then come to me. We must be drawn or die never
coming. Romans in chapter five, verse
eight, tells us that God commends or exhibits his love toward. And actually, when you look at
that word, toward, it's not like he's broadcasting that direction.
It's actually a word that means into. if God exhibits or commends his
love into us, it's an internal effect that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. And when we have that knowledge
is placed in our heart, like it tells us in Ezekiel, I'll
put my law on your inward parts. I'll give you a new heart, a
heart to know me, a heart to love me. And then you'll look
at yourself and loathe yourself It's a linear process kind of.
In the drawing, God, by the Spirit, changes us in the new birth that
we will come to him. Because, you know, Jesus said
in John chapter 6, all the father giveth me shall come to me. I don't know how many times I've
stood here in this very place in 20 some years that I've been
teaching here. You know what, we're just so
comforted. We've had a lot of family come
here, not many of them come back. But the time that they were here,
they heard the gospel. And we're always comforted by
that because that's the important thing. They heard it, whether
God chooses to make it effectual is within his prerogative and
it's up to the Holy Spirit, not us. beat them over the head with
it and nag them, well, why aren't you in church today? Guilt them
into coming where they didn't want to come. Unless God puts
that desire into them, they won't come. And if they do come, they
won't enjoy it much. When God works in them, when
God draws them, they'll be where they want to be. They'll be where
they should be. And we always just take great
comfort in that, his word will be effectual. And if they heard
the gospel, then the rest is up to him. And it doesn't have
to be like right in front of us. They may go off in their
separate way, and he may work that. He may be like that Ethiopian
eunuch that was in Jerusalem, and he heard a bunch of stuff,
and then he was on his way home, and he was reading it, but he
didn't really get it. He's reading Isaiah and the Lord
sent someone to him and said, preached unto him Jesus from
that very same scripture. And then we know the rest, how
that, that turned out and many such records we have in the scriptures. But he exhibits that love toward
us for we're yet sinners and draws us by the spirit and He puts that his law in our
inward parts. And he says, then I'll be their
God and they'll be my people. They shall be willing in the
day of his power. Psalm 110, three tells us, you
know, for some, the drawing is more sudden, it's more abrupt.
With others, it may transpire over a long period of time. You
know, the apostle Paul is kind of a example of both of those. things, you know, he was, he
grew up a Pharisee, exposed to the law of Moses, all of the
Old Testament scriptures, I'm sure he had quite a bit of it,
committed to memory, was very intimate with those. And, and
the, the interpretation of it that he had was there was a keeping
of the law, the physical activity and accomplishing this sacrifice
or that sacrifice or that offering or this offering and not doing
this not doing that. And all those things that we
read about. But he in there. Jesus says search the scriptures
for in them you think you have eternal life. Which is what he
thought if I do all this stuff I'll have eternal life. But he
was all just caught up in the do stuff. But when Jesus said in them you
think you have eternal life, but they are they that testify
of me. And when he told those two fellows
on the road to Emmaus, he expounded to them in all the scriptures,
the things concerning himself. And in other places he talks
about all in all the law and the prophets, the things concerning
himself. So, you know, there's Paul had
all this exposure till he was a young man I don't know how
old he was when he got the warrants to go to Damascus and arrest
people. And he had just, according to
his own testimony in John or in Acts chapter nine, he had
just a couple of chapters before that chapter seven, he had just
listened to Stephen. And I think there's a parallel
between Paul and that Ethiopian. somewhat because Stephen went
through all the Old Testament scriptures and expounded to them
Jesus in all the Old Testament scriptures. And he went from
Moses, the Exodus, all the way up to the present time. And he
said, in this same Jesus, you have taken him with wicked hands
and crucified and slain. And Paul was right there. We
have that record that he was there. when they took him out
and stoned him. When Jesus arrested him on the
road, he says, it's hard for you to kick against the bricks.
So I'm thinking that during that sermon from Stephen, he said,
hmm, maybe this Jesus is the Messiah. Maybe this Jesus is
the Christ. But I'm still going to go arrest
everybody and have him killed. That's what that's the nature
of the fall. And as you know, until God turns
us around, we're, we're kind of in that boat. But I think
that there's some parallels there between that Ethiopian and Paul
and Philip and Stephen in declaring the gospel from the Old Testament,
and then Later on Paul in Galatians he said, well when it pleased
God to reveal his son in me, that's when he attributed that
it happened to him that he realized all these things that we're talking
about in Jeremiah. I've loved thee with an everlasting
love. He said he's a chosen vessel for me to take my word to the
Gentiles. He just agonized later on because he said, look at all
the stuff I did. I persecuted the church. I had
people killed. I had them tied up and beat up
and arrested and thrown in prison. I did it all. He didn't deny
any of it. He just said, I did it all, and
then God used it for good. What a story. What a testimony. So he's kind of a combination,
I think, of one who was maybe exposed to the gospel all along,
but really didn't realize it because he didn't understand
what it was like. He said, I don't understand any
of this stuff. How can I, unless some man teach
me? In turn, Stephen. So he said, he revealed this
unto me, that I might preach him among the heathen, And immediately,
he said, I conferred not with flesh and blood. But he wanted
to get with God at that point. He wanted to get with Jesus.
And he said, I went off to the desert and communed with him for a bit. So what we find is that God does
all the work from alpha to omega. That's what he's called in Revelation. I am the alpha. I'm the beginning.
first letter of the alphabet and the last of the beginning
and the end. He's the author and finisher
of our salvation, author and finisher of our faith. And he
that began a good work in us finished it on the cross there. We find that record in Hebrews
12 and John 19. He does it all. And not because
of any works which we've done, but according to his own purpose
and grace, he saves us and calls us was a holy calling. That's
what Paul wrote to Timothy in second Timothy one night. This
is not not anything we've done according to his own purpose
and grace. He saves and calls. I think that's an interesting
way that he writes that because he said he saves us and calls
us. and of an observance of the sequence
of things. Because you know the scriptures
say, unless a man is born again, he can't see the kingdom of God.
So he can't get the cart before the horse. And he says, that grace was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Another interesting
part of 2 Timothy 1.9. But it's something you don't
realize till after he reveals his son in you. And some people
may never fully realize that. Depends on how much exposure
they get to a place that teaches those truths. The third grand
and glorious truth in the text in Jeremiah 31.3 is that I have
appeared unto thee from old, from old That's an English term, but in
the Hebrew there it means from or out of above. So it gives
us that idea that God has appeared from above. And appeared means
it's an interesting word that kind of gives the implication
that he's given you to see, not just like, oh, I just popped
in, I just appeared. But it really has more of a thought is that you're given
the ability to see something that something appears to you
that didn't appear to you a minute ago, because now you can see
it. where before you couldn't. Unless
a man be born again, he can't see the kingdom of God. Under this, we're given that
God does and he must reveal himself to us. And he does that through
his son, Jesus, the Messiah, the gospel of his death, burial,
and resurrection in the new birth. He reveals the son and the son
reveals the father. Back when we were in the book
of Luke, a long time ago in chapter 10, about halfway through the
book of Luke there, Jesus said, all things. And when the Lord
Almighty says all things, it's not a euphemism. He's saying
something that's deeper and vaster and more true than we can know. He says, all things are delivered
to me of my Father. And we'll look at some scriptures
here in John and Romans and places that refer to that. All things
are delivered to me of my father. And the all things refer to the
redemption of the church, to the elect. And all the things
that enter into that from creation. We have that record in John,
in the beginning was the word and all things were created by
him, without him was nothing. created and we have that record
in Genesis. And it was all for the purpose
that Isaiah said, he created the earth, he created it to be
inhabited for his purpose. So all things are delivered to me
and my father in Luke 10, 22. And no man knows who the son
is but the father. And who the father is but the
son And He to whom the Son will reveal Him. There's a relationship
there. You might touch a little bit
on it in the Bible class this morning. The oneness and the
unity and the relationship. He says, Thou gavest them Me
in John 17. No man knoweth who the Father
is but the Son. Well, we know that He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. No man can come unto me except
the Father who sent me draw him. So this relationship of the revelation,
what Jesus said when he was talking to Peter is, well, who do you
say that I am? He says, thou art Christ, the
Son of God. He says, well, you didn't get
that from some secular site from some learning from man that was
revealed to you by my father. That's the only way that that
happens. And likewise the son draws us the father draws us
to his son. No man can come into the father
and to me except the father drawing. So there was a lot of people
around Jesus but no one was drawn to him in a in an eternal way,
except a few that the Father drew unto him. So we know that
these all things that were delivered unto him by the Father, we know
that those are the all things that work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
You know, when Jesus appeared unto Philip, he said, Philip
says, I don't know about that. Jesus said unto him, have I been
so long with you and yet thou has not known me, Philip? He
that has seen me has seen the Father. And how sayest then,
show us the Father. So this drawing involves this
revealing, this drawing. Our text tells us another great
sovereign truth is this everlasting or eternal love predates a person's
physical existence in the world. Glad your names are written in
heaven. Well, when did that occur? And
we find out that that occurred in eternity. And we have all
those records in the Old Testament where the names were engraved. And he says the names were engraved
on his palms and his hands and all those metaphors that picture
And Revelation goes into it somewhat deeper. But for today, we're going to look at Paul quoting
Malachi, who is quoting Moses. It's kind of a quote, quote,
quote thing. In Romans, the ninth chapter,
verse 11, and we referenced this verse a minute ago. He said,
for the children, Being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said unto
her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That's from Malachi chapter 1,
verse 2 and 3. And Malachi was referencing Genesis
25, 23 when Rebecca and her husband were kind of agonizing over this
birth, this having children. And he said, two nations are
in thy womb. And then he said, the elder is
going to serve the younger. What is because he determined
he determined that Malachi reference that and Paul referenced it further
again in Romans or chapter nine. So everlasting love then is love
before there was time before there was a world and we we kind
of have to just ponder that a little bit because it's kind of beyond
our frame of reference and But in God, the eternal nature of
God, it's not such a puzzle. Everlasting love was love before
time. It means there never was a time
when God didn't love you. He saw a change in you. He didn't
start loving you on this day when you became a good person
confessed or something he loved you before you were born before
you did any works good or bad. And you don't you find that out
after after he's revealed his son in you in the new birth and
you find out that. I think there's Spurgeon quoted
this woman say no I don't know how God could love
me, knowing me like he does. You know, I could understand
why he hated Esau, but I can't for the life of me understand
why he decided to love Jacob. But it wasn't based on what they
did or what they didn't do. It was all based on his eternal
love and his purpose in bringing in the Redeemer. There was never
a time when that wasn't uppermost in his in his workings. There'll never be a time he'll
stop loving you because love is bound up in his eternal nature
and cannot change ever everlasting or eternal it's the same word
or forever. It's many different terms used
in the scripture. It's based solely in the perfect
will and sovereignty of God Almighty as we noted in Romans 9 where
he says according the purpose of election might stand. That
was the cause behind it. He chose, we're about to elect
government officials, we choose them. And that's what God did. And no one has a problem with
us going down to the polling station and choosing whom we
want. But they seem to have a problem with God when he says, I choose. I chose. The scriptures call this eternal
election or choosing of and by God in Ephesians chapter 1 verse
3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ according as he has
chosen or elected us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. You
know in our natural condition, that's a load of malarkey as
some put it. But after we're born again, after
we've been given this new birth, then that becomes very precious
to us. How wonderful it is that he had an interest in me, as
Norm likes to say, before time and it never wavered and never
will waver. And so the text of the Word of
God through Jeremiah declares, therefore, that's an important
word that we find in the middle of that sentence. The Lord appeared
unto me of old saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, as a result of or
because of that with loving kindness have I drawn. And I think that's
important to understand that loving kindness is a it's always with loving kindness
even even if it does sometimes seem less than that on the surface
underneath it is the loving kindness which is a word that kind of
marries mercy, truth, love, and kindness all into one word. All those attributes come together
in the Lord's drawing you to himself. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn you. It's just an adverb that means
for that reason, or consequently, or as a result. It's used like
1,200 times in the In the Old Testament it always shows a result,
a consequence from something that has already occurred. Usually
therefore is a result of what transpired
before. Therefore links the effectual
action of God in drawing a person specifically to his eternal love
for that individual. So those things are linked together. I've loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. It doesn't leave you hanging
out there waiting for you to act on your own because you never
would. It draws you. So we might correctly
rephrase this as, I, that is God Almighty, the Father, have
loved thee with an everlasting or eternal love. And for that
reason, that reason alone, with loving kindness, have I drawn
thee. I've loved thee with an everlasting
or eternal love. Consequently, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. As a result, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. All based on God and his purpose. And the term loving kindness,
again, is variously expressed in the Old Testament as mercy,
merciful, kindness, kindly, goodness, and being brought into favor. There are some terms that it's
synonymous with, it's described as eternal forever from old. In Psalm chapter 25 and verse
6, the Lord caused David to write, remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy loving kindness, for they have been ever of old. And that means from above, and
it says time out of mind. Isn't that an interesting way
to define that term? Time out of mind. His mercy endureth
forever. You know, that's written 22 times
in Psalm 136. For his mercy endureth forever.
And it's linked together inextricably with truth in Psalm 85. I always
like this verse because it says, Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Isn't that wonderful? And in
the center of that is Christ. Christ is our substitute. Satisfying
the righteousness of God, bringing us peace with him. What a wonderful
scripture. So, loving kindness is understood
by the elect kind of after regeneration and revelation in Psalm 107,
verse 42 says, the righteous shall see it and rejoice and
all iniquity shall stop her mouth. So what is it that they shall
see? The mighty works of God, especially in salvation. Psalm
107, 19. In Psalm 107, 43, the next verse
asks, who so is wise and will observe or will see these things,
even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.
And that's what John recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus in
John chapter 3. And he says, the more you study
that, and the more you think about that, the more he's looking
at Nicodemus, who's kind of supposed to be a wise man in the scripture,
and a leader, and an elder. And he says, lest man be born
again, he can't see the kingdom of God. He says, you're a master
in Israel, and you don't know these things? Nicodemus says,
how can these things be? And Jesus says, how can these
things be, unless the spirit reveals them to you. That's how
they can not be. You know, loving kindness perseveres
in the elect and Isaiah 54, 10 says, the mountains will depart,
the hills will be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
sayeth the Lord, have mercy on thee. What a wonderful verse
that gives us great comfort. And we see in this that there
may be and will be many trials in the world. And we were singing
that one hymn there about those kind of things. But God's loving
kindness changes not. It doesn't mean that we won't
be adversely impacted by some of those things. We read last
week where Daniel was carried off in captivity to Babylon right
along with the rest of the people of Israel, some of whom were
caught up in idol worship and rebellion against the person
that God had put in charge of them. And he was probably saying,
I don't know how this is all working for my good. But I trust
God that, yeah, it is. But he says his loving kindness doesn't
change toward We can't see the future or predict the effects
of the gospel. And so we have to be indiscriminate
in preaching and declaring the good news that Christ died for
our sins. And as believers trust so much
in that, that all the Father giveth me shall come to me. We
may not see it or know it in this world, but we believe it
because thou hast said. So loving kindness is part of
the betrothal of the church, the impetus of his effectual
drawing, divine action of God by Jesus
and the Holy Spirit. We're about out of time there,
so I'm going to wrap this up. And Paul wrote to the folks in
Rome Romans chapter one he said to all the people in Rome the
love of God called to be saints grace and peace. Even if you end up in the Coliseum. So for all those who God the
author and finisher of salvation and begin a good work As God
draws you, may you come to Christ and see him that first loved
us, and know then that we love him because he first loved us
eternally. Thank you for your attention,
and as always, be free.