Let's open your Bibles to Matthew
chapter 22. We're going to look at a message
in two parts today. So if you were here for Sunday
school, you'll get a little something extra that I broke out from the
message that I did. I preached this, I don't know,
maybe three weeks ago in Lexington after Todd was recovering from
his surgery. And when I preached it, he said,
you know, if you take one part of that, he said, I think you
can make a message in and of itself. broken that part out,
and that's what you're going to hear this morning is this
is the parable of the marriage feast. And we're going to kind
of consign our attention this morning to just the first three
verses. So let's let's read those together. And Jesus answered
and spake unto them again by parables and said, The kingdom
of heaven is like unto a certain king. Which made a marriage for
a son. And he sent four servants to
call them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not
come. So we're looking at two parts
here this morning. First, we're looking at a king
that made a marriage. There's significance to that.
Secondly, we're looking at guests that were bidden but would not
come. It didn't say that they could
not come. It said that they would not come. Why would they not
come? It's not that they were unable
to, it's that they wouldn't. The carnal mind, Romans 8, 7,
is enmity against God. Enmity is not a real word that
we use today. To help us understand what that
means, enmity means hatred, opposition, everything that stands against
another, opposing. So this is the carnal mind, what
you are by nature. his hatred toward God. Has the
Lord brought you to the place where you've seen that in and
of yourself? The average religious person cannot see this in themselves,
nor would they be able to, because they worship a God of men's hands,
who has made salvation possible if you accept the offer that
he set forth, who will look favorably on what you've done, because
he knows You can't be perfect. And he knows what my intentions
were to keep his law. He knows that I can't do it,
but he knows that in my heart I want it. Now this is ridiculous
because we don't, we as men in our own society don't follow
those rules. Why would we apply those towards
God who's far above us? Next time you get pulled over
for driving too fast by the police, you tell them, My intentions
were to keep it. You know I can't be perfect.
See how far that gets you? We don't apply that to our own
loss in our own society. How can we say this before God
and standing before his holy law? We can't. Here's another
one for you that I've just kind of come upon in the last few
months in enrolling our son in soccer. And come to find out
it was through a religious organization, which Had I known that, I might
not have done that, but their motto is, they're called, I am
third. So God is first, others are second,
but I am third. Is this really who the God of
the Bible is? He somehow gets fit into everything
else that's ordered in our life? This God is not found in this
book. The God of this book is called almighty, terrible, holy,
feared, One who changes not. First, is he first? No. The scriptures
say Christ is all and in all. He's not first. He's all. He's
everything. This is the God of the Bible.
At this time, there was no New Testament and Old Testament.
All we had was the Old Testament at this time. So this is the
God. He changes not. So the God of the Old Testament,
the one in this world says he's too mean, he's too harsh, he's
too angry. They don't like that God. because
they can't control that God. That's a sovereign God in whose
hands we are. They have no control over Him,
so they don't like Him. We like this effeminate Jesus that they
created, that they have some ability to say that, well, Jesus,
everything is superseded by His love. But that's not the God
of the Bible. When you see who this God is,
you will say with Isaiah, when he saw God as He was revealed,
Woe is me. I'm undone. Undone means I'm
cut off. As soon as he saw God and his
holiness, who he was sitting upon the throne, he saw in himself,
and not before then, I'm cut off. I'm a man of unclean lips. All I do is sin and dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips. Everything that I do and
say and am around is sinful before God. For my eyes have seen the
king, the Lord of hosts. So it's only when we see him
as he is, it's only then that we can see who we are. We're
sinners and we fall far below and beneath where he is. Now,
I want to look at the only reason this morning, which is our subject
for why you can be saved. It's the only reason you can,
because when you stand before the king, you're cut off. You
are undone. So the only reason you can stand
before this king is that the king made a marriage. What's
the only reason the marriage occurred? The king made a marriage. Did he need any help from you
to do that? No. This was planned and agreed upon
long before you or I were ever around. And this is used to picture
eternal election. The king made a marriage. This
is just election when we think of it, there's only one vote
in this. This is God's vote. There was no you and me to have
a choice in this. So this is just God's choosing. That's what the word election
means, God's choosing. This ought to be the best news
that we ever heard and should never get old. And to someone
it does get old too, you don't see yourself as a sinner. You
don't see yourself as utterly cut off from God. Election is
the one piece of news that should never get old in us because it's
the only reason why God can save us. Now, you never would have
been looked at in love by God had he not elected you. Before
you ever were, had the opportunity to sin, he elected you. Before
you ever, it's the only reason that you came to even hear the
gospel. The reason that you're here this morning. is that God
elected you and at some point opened your ears through a man
preaching the gospel unto you and you heard it. Why aren't
you out fishing this morning? Right, maybe not a good day for
that, but why aren't you out doing something else? Why are
you here? Because God's done something
with your heart. Or the reason that you even believed.
Had there been no election, you never would have come. You would
have been as those, as we read here in our scripture in verse
three, who would not come. because they heard what he said.
They didn't like it. So the Lord have us give us ears
to hear and eyes to see and a heart to receive for us to even come
at all. So what I would like to do with the remainder of our
time this morning is to give you several points on what the
scripture has to say concerning election and the believer. So
this is just going to be constrained to that. So first thing, and
I'm going to ask you to turn some of these, but not all of
them just for time sake. The first one had a first Peter one,
two, It says that you are elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father. What's that mean? What does it
say? Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. So what's
the reason for election? Foreknowledge of God the Father.
That's the only reason why. Now, no other reason is given
and no other reason is required. If you'll turn over with me to
Ephesians 1.5, it'll take us a little further into this. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. Why? According
to the good pleasure of His will. That's the only reason given.
And that's the only reason that's required. So the only reason
that God chose us, the reason we're given, is that it is according
to the good pleasure of His will. It's because He desired to. He
desired to choose a people in Christ Jesus, His Son. The first
first thing the scripture says regarding the elect is that they're
chosen. The second thing the scripture says regarding the
elect is that they're called. Now, if you'll turn with me,
we're still in Ephesians one. Let's read verses 13 and 14 again. In whom in who that's Christ,
you also trusted after that you heard the word of the truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believe. you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession and to the praise
of His glory. Second thing regarding the elect
is that they're called. This is not a call, and everyone
in here hears the general call, you're to come to Christ. But
not everybody comes, do they? This call they're speaking of
is the call of the Holy Spirit. One that quickens the cold, dead
heart. One that you can't resist. It's an irresistible call. This
is the life-giving ability of God, the Holy Spirit, in calling
you from death unto life. And the believing and the life
occur at the exact same time. You don't believe and then you're
given spiritual life through the Holy Spirit. And you're not
given spiritual life through the Holy Spirit and therefore
you believe. The believing and the calling occur at the exact
same time. So when I believed at that moment,
God, the Holy Spirit, that's the point at which he gave me
life. Ephesians 1.5 says it predestinated according to, I'm sorry, the
earnest of our inheritance in verse 13. This is what's interesting. So this is one of those ones
I've probably read over many times before and not looked at
closely enough as I should. What's earnest? What is it? It's down payment, isn't it? It's a down payment on something
that is being purchased, that's exactly what we're reading here.
When it says, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession. So what is represented by that
earnest money? The giving of God the Holy Spirit. So you can have the confidence,
if God has given you his Holy Spirit, you are able to believe
the gospel. This is the down payment, if
you will, on what will be one day when the redemption of the
purchase possession occurs. Now, that occurred when Christ
died. He bought back that purchase
possession in terms of sealing our salvation in him. But in
terms of your experience, we're still here. We live here. We
move here. Our existence is here in terms
of our living in this world. But when we read this, when it
talks about the earnest of our inheritance, this is us being
quickened together with Christ. And it's a sign of things to
come, just as an earnest money is a sign of something to come,
paying down on the house that you'll eventually own one day.
But that was a blessing to me to see that in here. And so the
third thing regarding the elect that the scripture says is that
they're heirs. Isaiah 65 9 says, mine elect
shall inherit it. What is it that they're going
to inherit? Salvation. What is God the Son heir to? Because we are quickened together
with Him. He is our life. He's the head, we are the body.
What is He heir to? All the Father's praise, all
the Father's glory, everything goes to the Son. All things are
put underneath Him. If I'm in Him, whatever Christ
has coming to Him, that's what I have coming to me. How honored
is he before the Father? That's how I can stand before
the Father as well in him. So I can stand in him with confidence
in knowing I'm an heir. And if I'm an heir, does an heir
have to do anything to earn that possession, to earn what he has
coming to him, that inheritance? No. There's plenty of worthless
people in this world that inherit things that they don't deserve,
rightfully so. But I'm in Christ, and that inheritance
that he's earned is mine. I don't have to do anything to
earn it because I'm in him. I'm one of those worthless people
that have been put in Christ and I'm heir to exactly what
Christ has been given by his father because of who he is.
The fourth thing regarding the elect, what does the scripture
say? Is that they're upheld. If you'll turn with me over to
Isaiah chapter 42, verse one, says, Behold, my servant whom
I am, whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I
put my spirit upon him and he shall bring forth judgment to
the Gentiles upheld whom I uphold. So that's speaking of Christ
in terms of God, the father saying mine elect and whom I uphold.
But. If I am quickened together with
Christ, I'm in him also. I am upheld by God the Father,
such that I cannot fall, because I have been put into the body
of Christ. He is our life. So I am upheld
by everything that God the Father upholds His own Son with. If
I've been chosen, and if I've been called, so chosen in eternal
election, and through the course of time, God crossed my path
with a preacher, and quickened me with the Holy Spirit, and
called me Is he going to do all those things and then leave it
up to me to decide whether I'll be fall away or not? No, he's
flicking us together with Christ in whom is our life. And so if
I'm clicking together with him, I cannot fall away. He's ordered
things before time and in time all around the salvation of his
people. And so if I've been put into
him, there's no way that I will not be upheld because I'm in
Christ and he cannot fall. He's been successful in whatever
he's done. The fifth thing regarding the elect, the scripture says,
is that they won't be deceived. Matthew 24, 24. If it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. Now, if you've been elected,
God's given you a spirit and he's put it in you. He's given
you eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive. The scriptures tell us, if it
were possible, they would be deceived. It says, if it were
possible, that means it's not possible. It means everything
from the outside might appear that way. And my goodness, what
is being presented there? They're going to be deceived
by it. But it says, if it were possible. This is a fear, just
a fear of my own. I've often wondered with myself,
what if I'm deceived? What if all this is not true?
And I've believed a lot. I know this, that in me, if it's
left up to me, I will. I'll be deceived and I'll go
astray. But this gives me confidence
that if God has given me his Holy Spirit and I believe ever
at all, there's no falling away and there's no ability for me
to be deceived because he's saying, if it were possible, it's not
possible, they wouldn't be deceived. And here it says that they're
not. This is a comfort to me when I fear that I've been deceived
and that I could wind up lost. Sixth thing, it says that they'll
be gathered together. Matthew 24, 31, his angels shall
gather together his elect. Now this is speaking of end of
days. This is speaking when Christ returns to the earth, his angels
will go around and gather up all of his elect who are on the
earth. Our fears are pretty foolish, aren't they? Because I've thought
of myself again, that I can see why he wouldn't forget many of
you. but I can find every reason why he could forget me. And I
fear that I could see why somebody else would be gathered up, but
I'm gonna be forgotten. But he speaks and comforts that
fear and says his angels would gather up all his elect. There's
nobody that's gonna be forgotten, nobody that Christ led and died
for that's gonna be forgotten or left. Our fears are pretty
foolish, mine are anyway. The seventh thing regarding the
elect None shall lay anything to their charge. Romans 8.33.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God
that justifies. So if God has declared you not
guilty, who then can condemn you? Satan is called the accuser
of the brethren. He accuses them night and day
before God. See what he did just now. How
can you call him quick? See what he's going to do tomorrow.
You watch and see. How can you call him a queen? Christ paid for my sins. He paid
for everything that I had done before, I'm doing now and will
do. It's God that justifies. So it
really doesn't matter what you think about me or what I think
about you or what Satan says about me before God. It all has
to do with who's the judge. God's the judge. So if it's God
that justifies you and says you're clean, then you're clean. You
have nothing to worry about. What's our proof? What's our
confidence of this? It's Christ that died. What's
the only reason he died? He died because there was sin,
my sin, your sin present with him. His death is proof that
sin was paid for. And this is the glorious thing
that I'm never going to have to answer for. Never going to
have to stand before God. Yeah, he says you're justified,
but I've got memories. I know what I've done. I know
when I stand before and what I've really done. And is he accepting
me begrudgingly saying, well, you're clean, but you know what
you did? You're in here by the skin of your teeth, because I
think that's how we feel in our experience, because we know what
we do every day. But yet this says none shall
lay anything to their charge, because not only is it forgiving,
but it's forgotten. God is, in his holy wisdom, has
not only purged the sin from us, but it's forgotten. That
gives me confidence and takes the burden off of me. Because
even though I know I've been forgiven, I know what I did,
it's forgotten. You didn't do it. So he has no
reason to be mad at me. There's no begrudging coming
into his presence that he's accepting me because he has to. He's accepting
me because he wants to. because I'm in Christ, everything
that's the object of his love. So nothing shall be laid to the
charge of God's elect. Another one, it says that they
shall be avenged. Let's turn to Luke chapter 18,
look at that. Luke 18, verse seven. And shall
not God avenge avenge his own elect, which cry day and night
unto him, though he bear long with them." Nothing in this life
goes unseen. You're going to get offended
by something someone else does to you. People are going to hurt
you in this life. Maliciously, they will. If you've
lived here long enough, it's already happened, and it continues
to happen. But one thing that we can have
confidence and consolation is, is that there's nothing that
passes God's eyes. He sees everything and he says,
mine elect will be avenged. There's nothing that someone's
gonna do to you that he's not gonna requite against them in
that last day. He says, vengeance is mine, I
will repay. So everything that could be done
to you, that's in the Lord's eyes. And you consider this,
we're called upon to cry unto him. Isn't that's what this says?
Which cry day and night unto him. So the Lord's ear is open
unto my cry. My father's ears open unto my
cry. You consider with your own children. They come to you, say
somebody hurt them. Somebody did something to you. Your heart goes out to them.
That gets your attention really fast. And you want to defend
and protect them. Is our Heavenly Father any different
than we are to our own children? We're made in His image. Our
Heavenly Father's ears are open unto our cry. And He pities us
for the pains that we have. But He says that they shall be
avenged. Number nine, 2 Timothy 2.10, it's gonna be that the
elect are saved. Paul says, therefore, I endure
all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The
elect will obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus. You
know what? There's going to be no surprises
in heaven. There's going to be, not to God anyway, maybe to us,
we might say people that we thought were going to be there won't
be there. And people we didn't think that were going to be there
will be. But to God, there's no surprises. Because all the
names of all those whom he elected, whom he chose, were written in
the Lamb's Book of Life. And this book is written cover
to cover. no extra space for those who just make it at the
end. There's no scratching any names out of that book. You see,
when Christ took on his left in eternity, he was at that point
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And there's none
of them, he said, that are going to fall away, that are going
to be taken out of my hand. So any names that were written
in that book, if your name was written in that book, it's going
to be no surprise to anybody there. that your name is written
there. So if it was written, it always
will be there and must be so. So that gives us confidence in
knowing if he saved me then, he's gonna save me then and that
day also. Number 10, the elect says they
shall greet thee. The children of thy elect sister
greet thee. I have the opportunity for traveling
a lot with what I do for a living. And I've had the opportunity
to visit a lot of different churches just in my travels. And it may be the first time
I walk into somewhere that I've never been before. But one thing
that kind of, you're a little nervous because it's new, but
I remember these people love the same person that I love. What more do we need to have
in common than that? The rest of the stuff's just
flesh. It's foolishness. It's just flesh. Yeah, there's
people that are more like me, that we do things together, that
maybe in a worldly sense, you get along with one, that's flesh. We're all brethren. We're all
brethren, all people of the same body. So when I go and visit
somewhere else, we're friends. I can very quickly make friends
with these people because we're all part of the same body. We're
cut from the same mold. We love the same person, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so if we have that in common,
what more do we need? we can find something because
we're all part of the same family. Two more, we're done. It says
that they will enjoy. Isaiah 65, mine elect shall long
enjoy the work of their hands. What are works evidence of? Works
are evidence of faith. Isn't that what James says? This
world confuses this because you can have works that have no faith
at all, but you can't have faith and not have works. You see,
these are the fruits of growth in grace. If you've been quickened
and been given life, you will grow in grace. Anything that's
alive will grow. If it's not growing, then it's
dead. So if we've been given life,
you will grow in grace. Some of us grow slower than others,
but we will grow. So we'll see that dialects, history,
and Greek, I'm sorry, we'll enjoy the work of what God has worked
on us, is that we will grow. Lastly, in 2 John 1.1, let's
look at that, and we'll close here. Verse one, the elder unto the
elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, not
I only, but all they that have known the truth. You know what? If I'm loved, I'm not just a
number. If I've been elected, I am part
of a body. And if God has sent his son to
die for me and ordered all things in the past to choose me and
turn election, God loves me. And if he's chosen you as well,
then he loves you. And he gave his son for slaughter
for you. What more could he do to show
his love, to redeem you from justly so our punishment and
of our sins? He gave his son for slaughter.
God has done that for me, and if he's done that for you, then
he loves you, and not begrudgingly, because the sin is paid for,
it's forgotten, and it will never be held against me. So election,
what we looked at this morning, is the first thing that God does
for you. It will be the last thing that you ever will remember.