As he was talking about the kingdom
of heaven, a man asked him, are there few then that be saved? Are there few that be saved? We do know this, that if a man
is saved, God's got to save him. If a man's saved, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the only Savior. He's the only one that can save,
the only one that will save. So are there few that be saved?
In light of the world, yes. In light of eternity and how
many will be with Christ, no. But this man asked that question,
and our Lord said, I'll tell you how you're going to, you
know, you know the way a man's saved? He says, strive, strive to enter
in at the straight gate. And that straight means it's
so narrow, very narrow. Enter into that straight gate.
And that means, beloved, there's nothing can go through there, Except a man or a woman who means
to have Christ, nothing else can go through there but a sinner. And he can't bring nothing with
him but his sin. He can't bring his righteousness,
he can't bring his self-confidence, he can't bring his self-righteousness,
he can't go through that gate. I mean, he's got to have nothing,
nothing but his sin. And he says, many will seek to
enter in and they won't be able. They're not going to be able.
And then, you know, they said, well, they stand and start knocking
at the door when the master of the house has risen up. And this
is the way people are. When they get down to old age
or get ready to face eternity, they want to get in all of a
sudden. They want to be saved. And they
begin to knock at the door. And they'll say, Lord, Lord,
open unto us. He'll answer, I don't know who
you are. I don't know you. I don't know you. I don't know
you. And they'll say, well, Lord,
you've been, you've eaten where we were, and you've drunk in our presence,
and you've taught in our streets. He said, in other words, you was
among us. But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not, where you
are, where you come from. Depart from Me, all you workers
of iniquity. Then there's going to be weeping,
wailing, and gnashing of teeth. And when He talks about gnashing
of teeth, that means just gritting your teeth. That's all it means,
just gritting your teeth. Gritting your teeth, getting
very angry. I've seen folks do that a time or two. I remember,
I remember an old woman, she was up in her 80s. And she was
at our home, we began to talk about the gospel and talk about
Christ. And boy, she went to flipping her feet, you know,
just rubbing her feet together real hard, and gripping her teeth
like that. Boy, she didn't want to hear
about it. She just couldn't stand to bear it. One of her sons,
I brought the gospel up to him, he's getting ready to leave this
world. He said, well, it's just not for me. So now there's weeping
and gnashing of teeth. They've weeped and gnashed their
teeth here. Imagine what they do without
Christ when they leave this world. And you know what? Here's the
thing that's going to cause them to really, really hurt. They're
going to see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God. And they thrust out. They thrust
out. Well, but something happens that
same day. Look what our Lord Jesus says. Oh Jerusalem, verse 34. Oh Jerusalem,
Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Huh? Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How oft
which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sinned
unto thee! How often would I have gathered thy children together,
as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and you would
not. You know, Jerusalem, this was the religious capital of
the world at this time. Still pretty religious. I mean,
people go over there to that wailing wall, they want to go
to the Holy Land, and they call it the City of David. It's the
religious capital of the world. The Temple was there, where the
Jews came to worship. And there was Feasts set up three
times a year and all the people that could would go up to Jerusalem. You remember the Ethiopian eunuch,
he came from Jerusalem. He'd been up there all the way
up to Jerusalem to worship. This is where the Sanhedrin,
the 70 elders that ruled Jerusalem stayed and sat. But he said,
I would, I would have gathered you. He alone could say this
who is God and man together. He alone could gather people
together. He alone could gather them that
are scattered. He alone could gather sinners
to Himself. He alone could gather His elect
to Himself. He alone could do it, the God-man.
And then it says here, He said, Oh my, He said, You sent prophets
to you. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which
kills the prophets. Prophets. You know how many prophets
that was killed in Jerusalem? Lots and lots of prophets were
stoned and killed in Jerusalem. Lots of them. Jeremiah. You read
the book of Jeremiah and all he did was pronounce woe and
judgment upon Israel and upon Jerusalem. And oh how often and
I tell you different times they took him and put him in the dungeon.
One man threatened to kill him. God told him to write a book.
He wrote it down and he took it to the king. The king got
out his knife and cut it up. God said to Jeremiah, just go
back and write it again. Just cause he cut it up, that
don't nullify it. And that's what he says to them. He sent prophets to them. Why
did he send prophets? To gather them. To warn them. to tell them about God, tell
them about God's righteousness, tell them about God's salvation,
tell them about grace, and tell them about judgment, if they
refuse the message of the gospel, remuse to hear the prophets.
And you know, let me look over here. In Matthew 22 with me. Look back in Matthew 22. He sent
prophets. He sent prophets. In Matthew
22 in verse 27. Look here with me. I want you
to see this. Well, I'm in the wrong place.
I tell you, I don't know how I've done this. Oh, it's Matthew 23, 27. Excuse
me. Wrote down the wrong thing. Nothing new, unusual for me.
Matthew 23, 27. Look what our master said about
these men and their prophets and what they did to the prophets. which indeed appear beautiful
outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all
uncleanness. Even so you outwardly appear
righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and
iniquity. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, Because you build the tombs of the prophets. I
tell you, you take a prophet that's going on, and you build
him a great big tomb, and you put his name on it, and how powerful
he was, and how blessed he was, and how you admired him. And
you garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. And say, if we
had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers
with them in the blood of the prophets. We wouldn't have killed
any of those prophets that came to us. Wherefore our Lord said,
Your witness is unto yourselves, that you are the children of
them which kills the prophets. Kills the prophets. So they stole
the prophets and killed the prophets. And God sent them prophets. Prophet
after prophet after prophet after prophet. To protect them, to
preserve them, to love them, to comfort them. And to gather
them, as a hen doth gather her chicks. But I tell you what,
our Lord Jesus Christ has gathered some. I'm one of those that He
gathered. Did He gather you? He was found to them who sought
Him not. But I tell you, He gathered some
unto Himself. He gathered those that were given
to Him unto Himself. He gathered those He loved from
everlasting and ever to everlasting. He gathered them. He gathered
them that He loved freely. He gathered His elect. Oh, He gathered His elect and
He's going to gather all His elect. And then He said He's
going to gather His children. All thou and the children that
thou hast given me. He said he's going to gather
his sheep. He said there's other sheep which are not of this fold,
them also I must bring. He's going to gather his sheep. He's going to gather them that
he calls the vessels of mercy. And I tell you what, He must
gather everyone that was given to Him in the eternal covenant
of grace. And He must gather all of us
who are His people because He told them how often I would have. How often I would have. But what did He say there? But
you would not. You would not. Oh my. This is an awful thing to think
about. He said, I would have gathered you, but you would not. You would not. They would not
be gathered. They didn't want Him. You know
why they didn't want Him and would not be gathered? Because
they didn't need Him. They didn't need Him. You know
why people don't come to Christ? They don't need Him. You know
why people don't come to the Lord Jesus Christ? They don't
need Him. They that are whole don't need a doctor. They that are not sinners don't
need a Savior. Only sinners need a Savior. Only
the sick need a doctor. Only the people who are helpless
need help. Only people who have nothing
need Christ. And you know why you don't need
Christ and why men will not come to Christ? They don't need Him. They do not need Him. You know
who He healed? Luke 11 said, He healed them
that had need of healing. And all who need healing come
to Him. And the Scripture says they came
to His feet. They gathered at His feet. They
gathered where the place where they ought to always stay, at
the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they would not. How many
times did a prophet come to them and say, listen, the Lord said, thus saith the Lord, And our Lord Jesus said they
put their fingers in their ears. God said they put their fingers
in their ears. Put hands over their eyes. But they would not come. Are
you one of those who will not? What was the matter with you
that you would not? Why wouldn't you come? What would
keep you from coming to someone that's so compassionate, so powerful,
so loving, so gracious, so merciful? Why would you not come? Is it
because you're not a sinner? Is it because you feel so good
about yourself? Are you strong about yourself?
Have you got a righteousness that will satisfy you? Is that why you won't come? Oh, I tell you, look at what
they would not do. Look at what they would do. Look at what they would do. Go
back up here to verse 31. Here's what they would do. They
wouldn't come to him, but this is what they would do. The same day, therefore, came
certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart
hence, for Herod will kill you. Now some day, certain of the
Pharisees. Now he's in Galilee. That same
day, the Pharisees, they said, Get out of here, depart. Herod
will kill you. Now he had murdered John, and
the Lord had testified of the power of John, and the last prophet
of the Old Testament was John. And he's in Galilee, and they
said leave his jurisdiction, and our Lord was on his way to
Jerusalem anyway, journeying towards Jerusalem. It seemed
like a nice thing to do to warn the Lord Jesus Christ, but there's
another motive behind this. There's another motive so Christ
could tell the truth about the situation and how it really was.
That's a nice thing to do, to warn the Lord Jesus Christ. You
reckon they really meant it? You reckon they cared anything
about Him? Our Lord turned around and told them, said, you go tell
that fox. You go tell that fox. Our Lord
was telling them about how Herod's character was. You know what
a fox... You know, foxes are sly. Foxes are cunning. They're crafty. They're subtle. They're hard
to catch. They're hard to find. And I'll
tell you what, that's what he was. He was sly and cunning and
crafty. And Christ knew there was a relationship
between them. And there was a relationship
between them over the Lord Jesus Christ. Both wanted Him dead. The Pharisees and the Herod. Let me show you something over
here in Mark chapter 3. Look in Mark chapter 3. Talking about What the Herodians and the Pharisees
wanted to do. Mark chapter 3 and verse 6. Look
what it says here. And the Pharisees went forth
and straightway took counsel with Herodians. That's the political
party of that day. Against him, how they might destroy
him. They was already together. They
wanted him to go to Jerusalem where they could actually slay
him. Let me show you something else. This is really something
to look at in Luke 23. Back over here in Luke 23. Look
with me in Luke 23 in verse 12. He said in verse 10, And the
chief priests and scribes stood, and vehemently accused him. And
Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him,
and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day, listen to this,
And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for
before they were at enmity between themselves. You know what brought
them together? Their hatred for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Their enmity for the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what brought them together.
And that's why it says, you go tell that fox. And he said that
to them. What they actually wanted was
the Lord Jesus to go into Judea, go on up to Jerusalem. And so
when they got him up to Jerusalem, then they could deliver him.
Then they could capture him. Then they could lay hands on
him. Then they could actually slay him. Then they could destroy
him. They would call him a false prophet. They'd call him a blasphemer.
And they would set him before the Sanhedrin and have him slain. But he says, tell that fox. He
said, yes, I want you to tell that fox. This is what I want
you to tell him. Behold, I cast out devils. You think I'm scared
of you? I face devils. Devils. I cast out devils. You
think I'm scared of a man? You think you're something? You
think you're a king? You think you've got power? You
know who you're talking to? Huh? Oh, listen, I cast out devils. I cast out devils. You think
you stop me scared? That I gotta run from you? He said, and listen, I perform
cures. I'm doing cures. I'm curing people. I'm healing people. I'm curing
leprosy. I'm curing blindness. I'm curing
deafness. I'm curing dropsy. I'm curing
so many things. And then look what else he said.
And I do cures, saving, healing those who are in need. And oh
my! Why would Herod fear me? Why
would he have to kill me? I'm going about doing good here.
I'm going about doing good. And then look what he says there. He said, I do cures. And I've
got today and then tomorrow and the third day I'm going to Jerusalem. He said he is journeying toward
Jerusalem. The third day I shall be perfected. Now that's a quickie
dig to me. I don't know what it means to
you but that's a puzzling statement to me. On the third day I shall
be perfected. He's telling Herod and these
Pharisees that he's not on their timetable. Get out of here. I've got today, I've got tomorrow,
and on the third day I'll be in Jerusalem and they'll take
me. And then I shall be perfected.
Now you know I tell you something, you know he's already perfect.
So what does he mean he shall be perfected? He's already perfect. He is perfect as man. He is perfect
as God. He is perfect as an infant. He
is perfect as a man. He is perfect on the cross. And when He talks about the third
day, the appointed day, He said, that's not a day sooner or a
day later. I'm on God's timetable. I'm on
God's timetable. I'm not on your timetable. I
don't worry about what you're going to say or what you're going
to do. The third day, that day, a day appointed, a day appointed,
but a day sooner or later, I will reach my appointed time, and
I will reach my appointed hour, I will reach the time when I'm
supposed to be in the hands of God and in the hands of men.
I've got a time. And there's nothing going to
stop, there's nothing going to hinder, nothing going to happen
till I get to that time. He said, Herod's going to kill
you. No, he ain't going to kill me. I've got today, I've got
tomorrow, and then I've got the third day. There's nothing going to happen.
And look at the way he describes his glorious Who shall I be? I shall be perfected. What does
he mean by that? You know it says over in Hebrews
being a son though he suffered yet he was perfected. What does
it mean? What he's saying is that I will
do my work. I'll fulfill all the tasks that
my father gave me to do. I'll fulfill the work I'll save my people. I'll pay
their sin debt. I'll bury their sins in my own
body on the tree. I will face God in His wrath. I'll face God in His justice.
I'll face everything that I'm going to have to face. And beloved,
and I don't fear Herod, I don't fear you, for my time is not
yet. And when I finish my work, like
our Lord Jesus said, I finish the work that thou gavest me
to do. Now glorify thou me with the
glory which I had with you before the world was. And I tell you,
beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ had a time, and bless His name,
thank God He went to that time. There was a time that he's going
to be forsaken of God. There was a time that he's going
to take his sin, our sin, upon himself. There was a time that
the wrath of God's going to fall on him. There was a time that
he was going to die. There was a time that he's going
to be put in the ground. There was a time that he'd be
raised again. There's a time that he'd lay
on this earth for 40 days and 40 nights. And there's a time
that he's going to ascend back to glory and sit on the right
hand of God. And there ain't nothing gonna
stop that. And I am grateful that all those
things happen. That's what you call the doctrine
of Christ. Huh? That's what you call the
doctrine of Christ. And I tell you what, in our Lord
Jesus Christ, He didn't fear one man. And our Lord even told
us, don't fear Him that can kill your body. Fear Him that can
destroy body and soul. Body and soul. And so our Lord
Jesus Christ, He's talking about the day when He shall, God will
say, raise Him from the dead and say, here is my beloved Son. Raise Him up and set Him at His
own right hand. And look what our Lord said in
verse 33. Nevertheless, I must walk. I must walk. Today, and tomorrow, and the
day following. What does he mean, I must walk?
When our Lord says, I must walk, what he's saying is, every day,
I walk in exact accord with the eternal will and purpose of God. Every step I take, Every word
I say, every deed I do, I do exactly as my Father willed and
purposed for it to be. And I tell you this, if any of
y'all ain't never read Zacchaeus book of absolute predestination,
there's not a, when you see the sun coming through and you see
the dust in the air, God put that dust just exactly where
He wanted. If there's a fly that lies on your
nose, God put it there. If anything is ever out from
under the control of God, then that is God. Ain't that right? If anything that God does not
have control over, that's the thing that's more powerful than
God. And I love the blessed truth
that everything on this earth that rise and wriggles from the,
you know, people say, why does God let this live and that live?
Why didn't He destroy? Everything has sucked God, put
everything here for a purpose. And I tell you this, I know this,
that what old Scott Riching used to say, if there's one spot on
the earth where God don't control, I don't want to be there. I don't
want to stand on that ground. Do you? If there's an inch of
ground on this earth that God doesn't control over, if you
stood on that ground, the devil would have you right there and
there. And that's why our Lord Jesus
Christ says, I walk in... And I tell you something else,
I'm walking according to the absolute will and decree and
purpose of my Father which is in heaven. He appointed me the
time to be here when I would be born. He appointed me to go
into Egypt when I was a baby. And He brought me back up out
of Egypt. And every step I've ever took
I've done it exactly according to the eternal will and purpose
of my Father. And then our Lord Jesus Christ
says this, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. And what he's saying, a prophet
cannot die outside of Jerusalem. He said, oh, he's not saying
a prophet cannot perish outside of Jerusalem. What he's saying
is, there's no way that a man, a prophet cannot die without
dying in Jerusalem. And they took him outside Jerusalem, but it's still Jerusalem. And I tell you, Jerusalem called
the holy cities. He said he stoned and killed
the prophets. And how many prophets did he
stone and kill? He said Zacharias, from righteous
Abel to Zacharias. They killed between the altar
and the city. And the Sanhedrin here is going
to gather and they're going to deliberate and they're going
to hire some men that are going to lie.
He's going to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. And some
men are going to get before all of those Sanhedrin's and they're
going to make up some lies about the Lord Jesus Christ. They're
going to even say, he said, look at this temple here. He said,
you tear this temple down, I can build it back in three days.
When he was talking about his body. But he said, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. And when He says, Oh Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, it's a lament. It's an outpouring of grief.
Oh, such grief. Our Lord Jesus Christ, how many
times do you find Him troubled? How many times do you find Him
groaning in spirit? How many? Two times you find
Him weeping in the Bible. Two times you find Him weeping.
And when He says, Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem represents
the whole nation. the spirit and attitude of the
nation of Israel. And the Lord speaks it twice,
Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. What he's saying is his heart's
grieved, grieved. And our Lord Jesus, sometimes
when he was so intense with emotion, would often repeat something. When Martha came to him and said,
Oh, but listen, my sister allows me to serve. He said, Martha,
Martha. I want you to understand what
I'm saying. He said, when Simon Peter denied him, he said, Simon,
Simon. And when they was bringing David
news about his son, he said, O Absalom, Absalom, my son, my
son, O Absalom, my son, my son. Grief is so great. Look in Luke
19.41, right over here to your right. What it says about our
Master. And when he was come near the
city, when he was come near, he beheld the city, and listened
to what it said, and wept over it. Can you imagine the Lord
Jesus Christ, that holy face, those holy eyes, that blessed
person, tears running down his face? I can understand me crying. I can understand you crying.
But for God-man to cry, and tears to fall down His face, fall upon
His breast? And why did He say that? Why
did He cry when He beheld the city? This is the same thing
He's doing now. Saying, If thou hast known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto
thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes. Oh, you know,
I was there and you didn't see me. And then our Lord, back over
in our text, He said, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How often, how often,
how often. And here's the thing about it,
when He says, how often, How often would he have called
you? How often has he called you? How often has he spoke to
you? How often has he sent the prophet? How often have you sat
under a gospel preacher? And he said, How often would
I have gathered you? How often I would have gathered
thy children together. I would have gathered all of
you together. I would have left none of you
undone. But you would not. You would not. We know that salvation
is altogether of the grace of God. Altogether of the grace
of God. Man absolutely contributes nothing
to his salvation. But we also know that the ruin
of man is the result of his own sin. The ruin of man is the result
of his own sin. If anybody perishes, if anybody
perishes from hearing the gospel, it will not be because they didn't
hear the gospel. It'll be because of their sin,
it'll be because of the rebellion, it'll be because of their own
enmity against Christ. That'll be the reason why. It's
the will of God that saves the sinner. It's the will of God
that saves the sinner. It's the will of man that damns
him. And that's why our Lord says,
you would not. I would have, but you wouldn't.
When I was there and would have gathered you together, you said,
no. Don't want it. Don't want it. Don't want it. Huh? Look at John
over here in chapter 5 with me. John chapter 5. Look here in verse 39. You know, nobody will not be
able to accuse God of not choosing them, not electing them, not
doing anything for them. It's the goodness of God that
leads a man to repentance. Nobody will be able to accuse
God, well, He didn't give me my... He never done anything
for me. I know two Jews. I know two Jews
very well. I know two Jews very well. One
lives in Montreal, Canada. The other lives in New York.
I know them very well. And they're Jews. They'll let
you know quickly that they're Jews. But neither one of them
believes the Bible. Neither one of them believes
in God. And they'll tell you flat-footed. I don't believe God. God, the
way He's done us Jews, there's no reason to believe in Him.
When He told them, now that's what He's saying here, you would
not. You would not. And it's the will
of God that saves. It's the will of man that dies.
You would not as the accusation Christ makes against guilty men.
Look here in verse 39 of John chapter 5. Search the scriptures. Go look through the Bible. Look
through the scriptures. In them you think you have eternal
life. You think because you know the
scriptures. You have eternal life. And they
are they which testify of me. They talk about me. They speak
of me. And listen to this. And you will
not come to me that you might have life. You read the Bible. You read the scriptures. You
say, boy, I believe it, so I've got life. I've got eternal life.
But oh my, if you don't see me in it, you will not come to me
that you might have life. And look what he said, I receive
not honor from men. Oh boy, I don't have to have
the honor, but I know you. I know you. This is what our
Master said, I know you. I know you. What do you know
about us? That you have not the love of
God in you. Oh my. And then look what our Lord said,
I would have gathered you but you would not. Man will not. Man will not. So when this world
is said and done, you won't be able to say, choose God. Not
doing what God does. But he says, now look, behold,
your house is left unto you desolate. The awful consequences of you
would not. Your house is left unto you desolate.
I thought of this this morning. How many people have everything
in this world they could probably want? They've got money, they've
got homes, they've got cars. They've got money in the bank.
They've got healthy children. They've got what the world calls
a good future. And yet, without Christ, their
house is just as desolate as if they had nothing. Just as
desolate as if they had nothing. And then there's people who have
nothing, that they're rich as they can possibly be. And you know what our Lord your
house is going to be left unto you desolate and and truly I
say unto you oh My you know what he says your
house is left unto you desolate the temple and Jerusalem all
of it was destroyed You know right now. They don't have any
temple The Jews don't have a temple They don't have a priesthood.
They don't have sacrifices. They don't have blood sacrifices
anymore. They are desolate. A Roman general
named Titus took 60,000 soldiers and went into Jerusalem. And they burned that place to
the ground. They pulled down all the stones,
tore down all the gates, and slaughtered the Jews by the thousands. And they put seeds on that place
that women were eating their own children. You know why? Because God said,
I sent my Son, and you wouldn't have Him. You refuse him. You refuse him. You thought you
done something when you killed Jeremiah? You thought you done
something when you killed Ezekiel? You thought you done something
when you killed Abel? You thought you done something when you killed
Zacharias? He said, when you killed my son, you done the worst
deed that man's ever done in this universe. Why shouldn't your house be left
until you're desolate? Huh? and all they come and pulled
it down and look what our Savior said and all my you shall not
see me listen to this until the time
come when you shall say I love this when you shall say
blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord and you
know when that day comes again When our Lord Jesus Christ comes
and every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. You know it said over in Revelation
that even those who pierced Him shall see Him. That's a Roman soldier that pierced
his side and the blood net come out. Scott Richardson said one
time, he said, there's a nearer way to the heart of Jesus than
with a spear. There's a nearer way. And that's
by faith. Oh my, don't wait till you see
Him coming. May God give you eyes to see
Him by faith now. and say, blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord and saves me, and saves me. Our Father, in the precious name,
blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your abundant
mercy and grace given us today. Lord, I pray that you'd cause
this message to run well, cause it to bring forth fruit. You're
the only one who can. It's in your hands to do what
seemeth good. And so, Lord, you use it as it
pleases you. And Father, forgive us of everything
that's unlike you. Lack of warmth of heart. And Lord keep us, oh please keep
us, keep us looking, keep us living, cook us, trust and keep
us cleaving to our blessed Savior who asked these things in his
holy name. Amen. Thank you.