Morning, everybody. You like you turn over the second Kings chapter six. Second Kings chapter six. Title of the message this morning is the promise of grace. We're gonna look at an Old Testament story and encompasses the end of chapter six goes all the way through chapter seven and My hope, my prayer is that at the end of all this, you'll understand exactly why I entitled it that way. The promise of grace, second King chapter six and pick up in verse 24, you know, kind of show us what we're dealing with here.

Second Kings six 24 it says, and it came to pass after this that been hated King of Syria gathered all his host and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for four score pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a calf of dove's dung, dove's feces, for five pieces of silver." What's going on here? Israel, that great illustration, that great type of God's chosen people, the elect, they're under siege. Siege. They're held up in the capital. This is Samaria, the capital of the Northern kingdom. We're inside a walled city. So a fortress inside this walled city. And they are led by King Jehoram. He's the king over Israel at that time. And this is important. King Jehoram is a wicked and an evil king. It says about this, about Jehoram in second Kings three, three, it says he cleaved under the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Neba, which made Israel to sin. and deported not there from.

Now, what's the sin of Jeroboam? It's lengthy. We could get real deep into it. It's idolatry. That's what it is. Jeroboam went along and said, this is the Lord's manner of worship. This is what he has prescribed. This is how we do everything. And suddenly along the way, he changed it. He changed the priesthood. He changed the places of worship. He set up idols, golden calves. He made worship more convenient. It's man's religion. Worship's more convenient. You don't like the gospel. You don't like the God of the gospel, the true and living God. So man changes it, makes an idol, makes it easier. Someone he can control, someone he can manipulate. This is false religion. And he led the people and he encouraged the people in this thing, this thing of idolatry. This was a wicked King. And there he is with all of Israel. And they're inside this city, this walled city, and they are besieged by their old enemies, the Syrians.

Now what's a siege? When I think of a siege, what I think of is you have your fortress, right? You've got the people held up in it. And the other army comes up and they camp around it. All of a sudden, they start launching catapults. And they're shooting arrows over the walls. And they send soldiers up there with batting ramps to beat down the gates. And that can be part of it. But traditionally, in its simplest form, that's not a siege. A siege is this. It's simply a cutting off. That army encamps around the city where the other army is held up. And they just cut off all supplies, they cut off all food, they cut off all water, they cut off everything. And all they're left with inside that walled city is what they started with. And what happens? The resources dwindle, the food dwindles, the waters dwindle. And all that army on the outside has to do is wait them out. We either starve them out, they'll all die of starvation, or they'll become so weakened they can't repel our assault.

These people are inside here and they are starving. They're paying absorbent prices. They're trying to eat things like ass's heads, a donkey's head. How much nutrition can you get out of that? They're eating dove's dung, literally dove's feces, hoping there's some sort of nutrient in there that hasn't been digested that they might get something out of. And they're spending all their money on that, which won't satisfy them. This is a desperate state.

Now let's peer for a moment inside the city walls and let's see what kind of people are dwelling here. Trevor, look at verse 26. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, this is Jay Horm, there cried a woman unto him saying, help my Lord, O king. And he said, if the Lord do not help thee, when shall I help thee? Out of the barn floor or out of the wine press? He anticipates what she's going to ask for. He says, I know you're starving. So am I. We're all starving. There's no food here. Where do you want me to get me food? Down at the barn floor? There's nothing there. We ate it all. You want me to go to the wine press? We drank it all. There's nothing here. I can't feed myself. If I can't do anything for myself, how am I going to do something for you? If the Lord won't help you, what am I supposed to do? He's anticipated her request, but her request is something completely different. Look down here in verse 28. And the king said unto her, what ale of thee? What do you want? And she answered, this woman said unto me, give thy son that we may eat him today. and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him. And I said unto her on the next day, give thy son that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son."

Imagine Jay Horm's horror at this. He thinks she's going to beg for food and she says, no, no, no, it's not food I want. I want a sick, twisted sense of justice. That's what I want. See, I've been done wrong here. I've been victimized. I made a deal. I made a pact with this woman. I agreed, I'll murder my son today, I'll put him in this pot, I'll boil him, we'll eat him, which we did, and tomorrow's the next day. And we made this agreement. Now, today, she's supposed to kill her son. She's supposed to put him in that pot. We get to eat him today, and she's hit her son. I've been done wrong in all this. I'm a victim here. I'm owed something. King, make her do it. Make her bring out her son here so we can eat him.

Can we all agree that this is evil? Can we all just agree on that? Can we all agree that only an evil person would do that? So what about her circumstances? I mean, she was starving. Who cares? Who cares? This is her child. She's sworn to protect, to provide for, to die for, if necessary. She murders them. She puts them in the pot. She eats them. All she had to do was be besieged. That was it.

Two things I noticed about this woman, these people in general. She's evil. So is everybody else inside these walls. She didn't know it. How matter of fact is she when she makes this request? Is there any mourning? Is there any remorse over this? Any type of shame whatsoever? Open air conversation. King, I've been done wrong. Here's what I did. I killed my son. We ate him. Now I've been done wrong. We're supposed to eat her son today. No remorse, no guilt. This had all become very common to her, since very common to us. It's what we do. It's what we think. It's what we are. And we just don't see how bad it is.

She's evil and she didn't know it. She has this great sense of entitlement. I'm owed something. I've been victimized here. You owe me. Make her do this. I'm owed something. Evil with a great sense of entitlement and it gets worse.

Look at verse 30. And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman that he rent his clothes and he passed by upon the wall and the people looked and behold, he had sackcloth upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so, and more also to me, if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, shall stand on him this day.

Jerome gets mad. He's frustrated. He says, I've had enough of this starvation. I've had enough of this siege. I'm looking at what's going on here and I've had enough. And he's looking for someone to blame. And so who does he blame? He says, Elisha, right? Is he really mad at Elisha? He's mad at God. He's blaming the Lord in his sovereignty. Elijah is just the one he can get to right now. That's the Lord's representative. That's his prophet. He's looking for someone to blame and he blames the Lord for the circumstances that they're in, this desperation, this siege that they're in.

And here's what I find interesting. Who had forsaken who in all this? Jehoam's saying we've been forsaken by God. He should do something for us. He owes us something. He should intervene. He's sovereign. He's in control. This is his fault. I'm blaming him. Who had forsaken who? He's the one who cleaved the sins of Jeroboam. He's the one who left the Lord.

Furthermore, Jahoram, you spent all the time worshiping those idols and leading all those people in the worship of those idols. Why aren't you calling on those idols right now? Why don't you call on those golden calves? They're your gods, Jahoram. That's what you told everybody. Why don't they deliver you? Why in the world would he think that the Lord owed him anything? Once again, a sense of entitlement here. And he's going to prove that it's the Lord he blames. He doesn't really want to kill Elisha. He wants to kill God. He would take him off his throne and he would kill him if he could. He's going to prove that.

Look at verse 32. But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him. And the king sent a man from before him, But air, the messenger came to him. He said to the elders, see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head. Look, when the messenger cometh shut the door and hold him fast at the door is not the sound of his master's feet behind him.

Now I love this. Elisha is completely and utterly unbothered. He is sitting in his home and he's got the elders around him. The Lord had already told him exactly what was going to happen. That's one reason he's unbothered. And number two, here's the reason he's unbothered. He knows exactly who his God is. He knows he is the sovereign. He is the almighty, that one that has all power and no other entity has any power other than what the Lord loans him to accomplish his purposes. He is that one who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will and his purpose is the eternal glory of his person and the eternal good of his people. So he sits quietly. quietly, completely and utterly unbothered. I pray for faith like that.

" And here's what he says. He goes, listen, guys, Jehoram's coming down. He's coming down with his executioner. He's walking down the stairs right now, and here's what's going to happen. When the executioner walks through that door, you brace him against the wall. I'll deal with Jehoram.

Now, he's going to prove it. He's angry at the Lord. He would kill God if he could. Look at verse 33. And while he had talked with him, behold, the messenger came down unto him. And he said, and the person speaking is not the messenger. It's actually Jay Horn. This is Jay Horn, the King who blames God. Behold, this evil is of the Lord. What should I wait for the Lord any longer? He proves it. This evil is of the Lord. This is his fault. I'm blaming him. I'm coming down here to kill him. I want to yank him off his throne.

Question for you. Put yourself in the space of the Lord right now. What would you do with these people? These people who had forsaken you turned to idols. These people who were murdering their own children and eating them, they were just that wicked. These people who were blaming you for their circumstances, who had this great sense of entitlement, and if they could get their hands on you, they would murder you and they would take your throne. What would you do with them?

Easily, I can answer that question right now. I would leave those people alone, I would let them starve, and I would let their enemies have at them, and I would start over with somebody new. That's what I would do.

Now, with that in mind, let's have an honest conversation about what those first couple of verses is actually talking about. It is talking about total depravity. The fact that every human being born into this world, save the Lord Jesus Christ, is born totally depraved, dead in trespasses, in sins.

Now, what does that mean? Total depravity. That's not a phrase that's found in the scripture. The doctrine is taught, but that phrase is not found. What does that mean? Number one, it's an issue of the heart. You guys know this scripture very, very well. It's Genesis 6, 5, and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

That's the heart. What is the heart is the animation of the man. It's every faculty of the man that's alive. Thoughts, everything inside the heart, the motivations and the intentions, the will, what he wants, what he loves. All of it is only evil and that continually. And inside the tiny crevices of each natural man's heart is everything you find in these people behind these walls. God blamers, idolaters.

You preach the true and living God, the one who is sovereign. The one who stands and he passes judgment on all men and men have no rights. They are dead and trespasses and sins. We have sinned against our God. We sit in the hands of a sovereign God. He can save us or he can pass us by and it's right, just, and fair, whatever he does.

The natural man says, I will have nothing to do with him. I don't like that. I don't have any control there. I don't like those circumstances, so I'll make my idol. Subtlety. Sin of Jeroboam. Just change things a little bit, right? Make a God that's less than sovereign. make me have some ability, combine my forces with him, get me a little glory out of all this idolaters. Blamers of God.

Well, if he's sovereign, who hath then resisted his will? Romans 9, 19. If he's in charge and I'm a sinner and I sin, well, that must be his fault then because he's absolutely sovereign. Entitled. I've done some good things. I've done things that God can accept. I'm owed something. You can't be a mercy beggar and somebody who's owed something at the same time.

And murderers of God. Everybody wants, every natural man wants what Adam wanted, which was to be his own God. To yank him off his throne and be his own God. A natural man, what would he do with this God, this true and living God of the Bible? He'd murder him if he could. And the only evidence we need of that is the cross. When the opportunity was presented, that's exactly what we did.

Now, That which is in the heart of the natural man, it bleeds out on the deeds. Let me read you this scripture. I want you to listen to it carefully. This is John 3, 19. And this is the condemnation. It's what the Lord has against us. That light is come into the world and men singular, not particular men, not some men, but men, all of them. loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds, not some of their deeds, not particular deeds, all their deeds were evil.

That which is in the heart, it bleeds out into the deeds, so that every action is sin, simply because it is rooted and grounded in that heart that is only evil continually. It doesn't matter what it is. We're not talking about moral and immoral conduct. We're saying, because I do it, because it comes from me, it is in fact sin, because it comes from this wicked nature.

Now, someone may say, that doesn't make any sense to me, that men are completely and totally depraved, desperately wicked. That doesn't make any sense because I don't see people acting out in the vilest manner possible at all times. No, you won't. You won't. Most people have never physically killed someone. Most people have never physically raped someone or committed these high crimes as we would see it. But the only reason for that is the restraining grace of God. That's it. It's all inside the heart. It's all committed inside the heart. The only reason it doesn't play out in the actions sometimes is because of the restraining grace of the Lord. If there was no restraint from God, it would mean that a generation after Adam, we would have killed each other off.

Now, let me, let me prove that to you, right? Keep your finger there. Keep a bookmark there. Turn it over to Deuteronomy 28. This portion of Deuteronomy 28, it actually acts as a commentary on this story right here. I want you to read this with me. Deuteronomy 28, look at verse 52. Verse 52, it says, and he shall besiege the Enoli gates. There's that word again, besieged, cut off. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustest throughout all thy land. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body. You'll eat your kids, you'll turn on them. The flesh of thy sons and thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee in the siege and in the straightness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.

When will he do this? When will he turn on his kids, and he'll eat his kids, and he'll murder his kids, and act out in the most vile manner possible? Just siege him. Just besiege him. Just cut off restraining grace. That's all you have to do. Everything that's on the inside, it'll bleed out onto the outside. Notice the other words, straightness and distress. You know what it talks about? Just a little bit of pressure. Just change the circumstances. Just siege him, cut off restraining grace, take away the influence, apply a little pressure. Make him just a little bit uncomfortable. He'll act out in the most vile manner possible. He'll murder his own kids and he'll eat them. That's every man. Goes on, goes further.

Look at verse 54. So that the man that is tender among you and very delicate, this is Bob. Bob seems like a really nice guy. Bob is very generous. He's very delicate. He's very kind. He's very tender. Bob's never had a harsh word for anybody. He's very generous with everything he has. Let's read about Bob.

The tender and delicate, so that the man that is tender and delicate among you and very delicate, His eye shall be evil toward his brother and toward the wife of his bosom and toward the remnant of his children, which he shall leave so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straightness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.

Here's all that has to happen to Bob. The Lord just removed that restraining grace. Just siege him. Just remove that restraining grace. Just put a little pressure on Bob. Just change his circumstances. Make him a little bit uncomfortable. That guy that was so generous, he was so kind, he'll turn on everybody, he'll murder his own kids, and he'll eat them. And he was so generous, well, now he won't even offer you a bite. That's literally what it's saying.

Ladies, you're not exempt. Verse 56. The tender and delicate woman among you which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness. She's so tender. She's so kind. She's so meek. Her eyes shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom and toward her son and toward her daughter and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet and toward her children, which she shall bear for she shall eat them. for want of all things secretly in the siege and straightness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates.

She's so delicate, she's so tender, she's so kind, she can't even put her foot, bare foot on the ground. Just a gentlest little thing, just procedure. Just take away that restraining grace. Just put a little pressure on her. All the hell that is in this heart, all that wickedness, all that evil, it will come spilling out in the most vilest of conduct. That's what it's saying. That's how bad humanity actually is.

Now, I ask you the question again, if you're the Lord, what do you do with people like that? Let's see what he did. Go back to your text. Look at 2 Kings 7 verse 1. Remember he's got the messenger pinned against the wall. J Horam comes out and says, this evil is of the Lord. I'm here to kill him. Here to take out all my frustration, all my anger. I'm going to dethrone God. I'm going to kill him. How does the Lord respond through Elisha? Second Kings seven verse one.

Then Elisha said, hear ye the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord tomorrow on a particular day about this time, particular time. shall measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, and the gate of Samaria. You know what he's saying there? Stop. Tomorrow, on the day the Lord appointed, at exactly the time he appointed, he is going to freely provide. You're starving, right? He's going to freely provide so much of the finest food that you've ever eaten that it will be absolutely worthless. this fine flour, this fine barley, he's gonna provide so much of it in such abundance, you're gonna have so much, you're gonna sit around and be like, I have these measures of this fine flour, Bob, I'll give it to you for a penny. Bob says, no, I've ate so much, I've got so much stored up, he provided so well for me, it's valueless, you can't even give it away, it'll be in such abundance.

To these people who are so wretched and so vile and so God-hating, he made them a promise of grace. that despite who and what they were, because he would, he said, I'll be gracious to you, and I will provide everything for you, everything you need. That was the Lord's response to them.

Do you notice here, when we read the account of what's going inside the city walls, you don't hear of anybody begging for mercy. And you don't hear of anybody praying to the Lord that he would deliver them. The only time the name of the Lord is used in all this, it's in blaspheme, and it's in blame, and it's in hatred. That's it.

So why? Why would he do this for them? For these people who are so against God, so rebellious, why would he be so gracious to them and make them his promise of grace? It's for one reason. That's it. Who are they? They're Israel. They're God's people. people he made a covenant with. Therefore, he will not deny himself. They are that great person and type of the elect.

Before the foundations of the world were ever built, God chose a people unto salvation, giving them to Christ and entering into a covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, we will provide for them. We will provide everything they need. They will be born into this world the exact same way everybody else. God-haters, rebels, evil people, just apply a little pressure. You'll see it burst out on them. But we have purpose to be gracious to them. We chose them. Therefore, they must be saved.

Let's read a commentary on that, because it's a good commentary. Go over to Deuteronomy 7. Let's look at this. Lord speaking to Israel at this time, but this like everything else is an allegory, right? This is the Lord speaking to his people, to his elect, and he's actually going to explain how and why he elected us, he chose us, and how all that worked.

Read this, Deuteronomy 7, look at verse 6. Verse 6, he says, for thou art an holy people, a sanctified people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Now he begins this explanation as if the Lord needed to explain anything to us. But he begins this explanation by saying, you're a holy people. Now, what does he mean by that? I mean, well, I chose you because you were holy. I saw that you would do holy things and you would attain to holiness. And so that's why I retroactively chose you. No, no, no, no. You're a sanctified people. He that sanctifies and them that are sanctified are all of one, therefore, he's not ashamed to call them brethren.

You know what he's saying here? He's like, here's why I chose you and here's where I chose you. You're sanctified. You are set apart to be made holy. All of one in Christ. You've always been in eternal union with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why I chose you. And that's where I chose you. You understand this election begins here. It begins with a father choosing the son. It's all about the son. It's all about Christ. He chose the son to be the representative of the Godhead. He chose the son to achieve the glory of the Godhead. He chose the son. And he says, you have always been one eternally with my son. You have always been the bride of Jesus Christ. You have always been his children. You have always been his people. I chose you in him. You've always been holy and perfect and sanctified in him, that lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That's where I chose you. That's why I chose you because you've always been in him.

Do we understand that? Do we understand eternal things? How can it be that we have always been one in Christ? It is. That's just it, it is. And it goes on, it goes further.

Verse seven, he said, the Lord did not set his love upon you. You see, this choosing has something to do with love. Nor choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. He says, I didn't choose you for anything in you or anything I saw that you would do, nothing like that. It's not that you were great, it's actually you were the lowest, the lowest of all, but because I loved you.

You see, all the Father's love, it's in one place. It's in Christ. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. All the Father's love is in Christ. Why were we loved? Because we've always been in Christ. And you know what? He doesn't feel the need to come out and say that. This is what he says. Read verse seven again. We'll read verse eight.

The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people. For you were the fewest of all people, but because the Lord loved you. He said, that's the reason I'm going to give you right now. You know why I loved you? Because I do. It has something to do with the eternality of the love of God for Christ and for everybody in him. That's what I do. That's what I am. I'm a God that is love. I love Christ. I love everyone in him because I loved you. That's all you need to know. And folks, that's all we need to know.

I guarantee this. There won't be anybody in hell that God loves. not a one. He loves his son. He loves everybody in his son. And he goes on and explains further verse eight, but because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath, which he had sworn under your fathers because of this eternal union, because the choosing that took place in this eternal union by love and oath was sworn. A promise was made a promise of grace.

The promise began with the father looking at the son, Son, I promise you this. You take those people that are in you, that's our people right there. No different than anyone else be born in this world, just like everyone else dead and trespasses and sins. You go and you satisfy every demand that I have on them. You make them perfectly acceptable unto me and you bring them back to me as I've ordered you to. I'll raise you from the dead and I'll receive every single one of them. That's the promise. the father made to the son.

And the son made a promise to the father. He said, I'll go for them. I will be surety for them. At my hand shalt thou require them. If I bring them not before thee and set thee before you, then you let me bear the blame forever. I promise I will do this. I will do everything that is necessary to satisfy your perfect sense of justice and bring these people back to you without a scratch on them. Nothing will be required of them. You look to me for everything. The father promised the son, the son promised the father, and out of that covenant, that oath, comes the promise to the elect. Everything's freely provided. Nothing is on your shoulders. God requires absolutely nothing from you. Everything he requires, it's been freely provided.

You know what I thought of? Genesis 22. Remember Genesis 22, the Lord told Abraham, he goes, you take your son, Isaac, you go to that mountain, I'm going to show you. And you go up and you offer him as a burnt offering. It's the greatest trial any man has ever been through, I'm sure. And they go up. Abraham and Isaac, they're walking up the mountain. And Isaac turns to Abraham and he says, my father, I see the fire. I see the wood. Where is the lamb for the burnt offering? You remember how Abraham responded? My son, God will provide himself a lamb for burnt offering. God will provide for himself.

Who are we accountable to? We're accountable to the Holy God. And what does He demand? Perfection, righteousness, holiness, unwavering subordination and obedience in all things, sinlessness. That's what God demands. Absolute perfection in a perfect sense of justice. He will provide for Himself. What did He provide for Himself? Himself. The representative of the Godhead was made flesh coming to this earth, living a perfect life in perfect obedience and perfect purity and holiness and righteousness.

But where are we? One in him. Therefore, every member of the elect, we walk the paths of righteousness in him so they really are ours. And he went to the cross bearing the sins of his people, his chosen people, his elect, putting them away to where they are no more. And now everything has been freely provided for those people. freely provided. There's nothing that is necessary from you. It's all been provided in Christ.

Now, Mark, you asked a question I'm very interested in. Do I know him? And does he know me? Am I one of these people? Because if I'm not, this is good information, but it does absolutely nothing for me. Am I one of these folks? Because if I am, if I am, that means everything has been freely provided. There is nothing God demands from me. He looks to Christ for every bit of it, and it is finished. It's done.

Let me read you this. Romans 2, 28 and 29, for he is not a Jew, not an Israelite, for he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly. Neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God.

The chosen people of God, the elect, is it the Jews? No, they were a type and they were a figure. Lord's people are in every tribe and tongue and kindred and nation picked out from all those. No, they were a typical people for that time. The Jews were, and how could you spot a Jew? Back then it was very simple. He was circumcised. He had a mark in his flesh. How can you spot a spiritual Jew? One of the Lord's people. He has a mark. He has a new heart. He has a holy man residing inside of him. He has the very spirit of God residing in him.

You know what that man does? He agrees with God. This is how bad you are. You're just this bad, you're just this evil, and it would play out in your everyday activities if it wasn't for my restraining grace. By nature, you're a God-blamer, you're a God-hater, and you would take me off your throne if you could. Yea, Lord, by nature, that's me. That's my old man, right there. Yea, Lord, that's me. I don't owe you a thing. I owe you nothing. You send away all your rights. Yea, Lord, that's right.

But this is what this new man in Christ Jesus does that we do see. We see it very well. It looks to Christ alone. It has nowhere to look to. but to him alone, my only hope of salvation. Yes, it is that bad. It is that bad.

And don't think, well, that's the way it used to be. That old man is still there, and he's still lively. Every time we get mad at our circumstances, we are mad at God because we know he's the one who brought the circumstances. Let's be honest about that. That old man is still there, and he shows his ugly head constantly.

But there is a new man, and here's where my new man sits. I'll be honest with you. This is my only hope is that he did this for me, that I am in that oath, that this oath was made to me. Nothing is required of you. Christ has come and he has done everything that is necessary to satisfy the father on your behalf. And that's the only way I will be saved. That is my only hope of salvation. If it is any other way, I'm going to go to hell. I'm sure of that. But that is my one hope. that I am part of that great union, that oath is made to me. And God requires nothing of me because it has been fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I tell you what, folks, if that's you, you're a Jew. You're a Jew. You're spiritual Israel. You're one this promise of grace is made to. Nothing but grace, nothing but provisions. Everything has been provided. You don't need to bring anything.

And there are only two responses to that. Look at verse two of second Kings seven. Here's the first response. Then the Lord on whose hand the King leaned answered the man of God and said, behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, behold, thou shall see it with thine eyes, but thou shall not eat thereof.

So Jay Horm goes back and he speaks to one of his advisors. And he said, this is what the Lord said. He said, tomorrow, about this time, he's gonna provide such great a feast. It's gonna be all the food we could ever want. It's gonna be in such great abundance. And this advisor says, how would he even do that? What, is he gonna open windows in heaven? Is he gonna supernaturally transport food down here? Can he even do that? No, no, there's nothing to that. He did not believe. It's just simple as that. This was the word of the Lord. That's how Elisha began. Thus saith the Lord. This is what the Lord said. Can God lie? No, he cannot. And this advisor says, no, no, he's not able. And if the Lord does not do anything for a man, if he does not intervene on his behalf, this will always be his response to the gospel. I don't believe. I'm not that bad. That's not me. And furthermore, God can't do that. I can't be justified simply by the blood of Christ. He can't just do it all by himself. He at least needs me to do something. I got to bring something to the table, right? This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. He did not believe.

Well, let me read you this. I thought this was an interesting scripture. Galatians 3.22, but the scripture hath concluded all under sin. We're all the same. that the promise, the promise of grace, the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. If that's your response, I don't believe that. I don't think he's able. I'm not that bad. You know what? Promise wasn't made to you. The promise of grace wasn't made to you. But if that's all your hope, I really am that bad. These are my dire circumstances. My only hope is that He has provided everything. It's all done. You believe. You believe the truth. That's because the promise was made to you.

That wasn't a decision, folks. You were called by the grace of God. It was all the purpose of the Lord, all through the ages, all through the eternities, to save you, to bring you to this very day and this very time and reveal His gospel unto you and cause you to believe and say, yes, that is my only hope, that Christ died for me. It's all in Him.

He didn't believe. It's because the promise wasn't made to Him. The promise isn't made to every man. The promise is made to sinners, though. And this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners of whom I am chief. It's made to his people. How do they identify sinners? Just like that.

Now, if the promise is not made to you, that's your reaction. But if the promise is made to you, this is your reaction. Look at verse three of second Kings seven.

And there were four leprous men at the entering into the gate. And they said one to another, why sit we here until we die? If we say we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city and we shall die there. And if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come and let us fall onto the host of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we shall live. And if they kill us, we shall die.

Four leprous men. They've got it worse than anybody else, right? Not only are they starving in Samaria, they're also diseased. They're lepers, that great type of sin. And also this, because they're lepers, the law says you have to live outside the city. You have to live outside the camp. So they're not even protected by the city walls. So here they sit, not protected from the Syrians, diseased, starving, and they reason. And they use logic. And this is the logic of these four lepers and they consider three things, three options as it were. And it turns out when it's all said and done, there are no options. There's only one, three options. I said, here's our, here's our options. Here's what we can do.

First thing we can do is absolutely nothing. We can sit here and we'll starve or we'll die of this leprosy or the Syrians will come along and they'll chop off our heads. We can sit here and we can do absolutely nothing and we'll die. That's known as fatalism. God elected a people before the foundations of the world. Christ redeemed those people. The Holy Spirit comes in time and gives those people life and preserves them all the way to the end. Nothing you can do to change that. Nothing you can do to manipulate God. I'll just go about my business. We'll wait till Judgment Day and we'll see how it all shakes out. See which side I fall on. That's fatalism. That'll get you killed.

Next option. They said, well, we could go inside the city. Two problems with that. Number one, there's no food in the city. Everybody's starving inside there as well. But here's the other problem. If they go inside the city, the law will condemn them. They're lepers. They're not allowed inside the city. They have to dwell outside the camp. You come by law, you'll die. What is law? It's simply this. My salvation is in some way dependent on what I do. And whatever flavor of the many false religions and subtle false gospels there are, they claim a different thing. There's something you need to do. Whatever it is, there's something I need to do to be saved. I have to contribute in some way, either in the beginning, the middle, or the end of salvation. If I don't do the thing that I'm supposed to do, then I won't be saved. That's law. You come by way of the law, you are a debtor to do the whole law, you'll die. That's salvation by works. You'll go to hell.

So we can't sit here. And we can't come by the law, because all the law does is condemn us. So what do they finally come to? They said, here's what we'll do. We're going to go to the Syrians. And they don't owe us anything. We have no entitlements with them. They don't owe us a thing. We're going to go to them. We're going to throw ourselves at their mercy. And they may kill us. They may kill us. But at the end of the day, our only hope is they be merciful to us. And maybe they give us something to eat. And maybe they take us in. They don't owe us anything. We have absolutely no entitlements before them. We're going to go to them. We're going to throw ourselves at their mercy. And we're going to find out what happens.

And folks, when the Lord draws a sinner, this is exactly the way he comes. I've got no entitlements. I'm not owed anything. I've sent away all my rights with God. He doesn't owe me mercy. Well, he's God. Shouldn't he be merciful? No, he should do his will. That's what he should do. He should act according to his just character. That's what he should do. Whatever he wills to do, that's what he should do. He doesn't owe any man a thing. And that's exactly how we approach, Lord, you don't owe me anything. My sin is my fault.

Two things doesn't fit into human logic. God is sovereign and man is responsible. Say, how could that possibly be? That doesn't fit into our system of logic. That can't be right. All that shows is our logic is flawed. Our logic is sinful. Both things exist at the exact same time. God is absolutely sovereign, and I am responsible for my sin. And so when the Lord draws a man, this is how he comes. Lord, I have no entitlements. You don't owe me anything. I'm just a mercy beggar.

Remember that woman who said, Lord, help my daughter. She's grievously vexed with the devil. He said it's not right to give the children's bread and feed it to dogs. Remember her response? Truth Lord. If I've ever heard the truth, that's the truth. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. That's how you approach.

And folks, it's not up in the air. It's not like, well, I, we come with absolutely no entitlements. We're not owed mercy in any way, but this is the gracious promise of the scripture. This is what he says. John six 30, John six 37, all the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me. I'll in no wise cast out. Now, who is going to come to Christ? Who is going to believe on him? Who's going to trust him? Everybody the father gave him in that great election. They're exactly the ones that are going to come. He's going to cause them to come. And this is the promise. You come to me. I will in no wise, for no reason, cast you out. He said, I don't know whether I'm elect or not. That's none of your business. Your business is to know this, and to believe this, and to come to Christ on this. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Are you a sinner? Then the promise is made to you, and you are commanded to come to Christ, and you have this promise. I will in no wise, for no reason, cast you out.

Let's see what these guys found. Look at verse set or verse five. These lepers go verse five and they rose up in the twilight to go into the camp of the Syrians. And when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there for the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots and noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. And they said one to another low, the King of Israel had hired against us, the Kings of the Hittites and the Kings of the Egyptians to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight and left their tents and their horses and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives.

These four leopards, they said, we're going to go and they may kill us. We're going to throw ourselves at their mercy. And they walk into the camp and there's not a man there. All their enemies had been driven out. Now I want you to notice the order here. It is not they showed up and the enemy fled. They showed up and they found out the enemy had already been driven out. Come to Christ, you plead for mercy and grace. What you find is you've already been saved. You're just acting upon that salvation that has already been carried out. Before the foundations of the world were ever built, he stands and stood as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. My enemies, my deadly enemies, my sins, they were all put away. eternally put away, always complete in Christ. Every member of the elect, we have always been eternally secure in him. We show up coming to Christ, we find out it's all been paid. It's not, we'll show up and it'll get paid. No, no, no. Show up because it's been paid. The debt's been paid. The sin has been put away. It's all gone. It's all over. You have no sin before God. That's the first thing they found.

And here's the second thing they found, verse eight. And when the lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent and did eat and drink and carried that silver and gold and raiment and went and hit it and came again and entered into another tent and carry that's also and went and hit it. I found that all their enemies had been driven out and everything they could possibly need and want. It was all sitting there freely provided. Oh, Syrians fled. They didn't take a thing with them. All the tents perfectly set up. You ever seen a military camp? It's the most precise thing you've ever seen. Everything just within an eighth of an inch. Tents just perfectly set up, fire still burning. These pots of porridge just still boiling on the stove. Food, gold, raiment, garments, everything these lepers could ever want or need, it was all there and was all freely provided.

That's what you find, folks. All my enemies have been wiped out. They were wiped out by the blood of his cross. And everything God demands of me, righteousness, perfection, obedience, faith, repentance, it's all freely provided. It's all right there in Christ.

They didn't do a thing during it. They came. It's their only hope. That's all they had. They had nowhere else to go.

Were there any other options? We can stay here, we die. We go by way of law, we die. We throw ourselves at the mercy of the Syrians.

They find everything they could possibly need and want. Folks, sinner comes to Christ, he finds everything he could possibly need or want in him. It's all finished. It's all furnished, all just sitting there, all for you.

Now, look at verse nine. Let's see what these guys did. Then they said one to another, we do not will. This day is a day of good tidings, a gospel day, and we hold our peace. If we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us. Now, therefore, come that we may go and tell the king's household.

What happens when the Lord saves a man, when he reveals Christ to him? It's one beggar who found bread, who found mercy, who found forgiveness, who found everything he could possibly want or need. And what does he want to do immediately? Go tell every other beggar about it.

What's preaching? One beggar telling another beggar where he got bread. He said, we do not well. We're feasting right now. We have all this. All the enemies are driven out. What's wrong with us? Let's go tell somebody else. Let's go find some other beggars. All these folks are hungry back here. Let's go tell them where we found bread.

That's what a man, when the Lord saves him, you just want to tell him, let me tell you about Christ. I don't want to tell you about my experience. I don't want to tell you about anything. I want to tell you about Christ and who he is and what he has done for sinners.

Not what he can do for you, what he has done for sinners. When we proclaim the gospel, we're not proclaiming what's going to happen. We're proclaiming what's already been done. It's not here. We need to prepare for this. And this might be an outcome of things like this. This is a finished work. The Bible is complete. It's finished book for this reason, because salvation is completed. It's a finished work. It's done. It was done before the world ever began.

We declare unto sinners, Christ came and he saved sinners. You've been saved. Just letting you know, just letting you know, if you're a sinner, he came and he saved you. Trust him. Take him in his word. You have the promise of grace.

Now let's look at their message. Verse 10. So they came and called unto the porter of the city and they told them saying, we came to the camp of the Syrians and behold, there was no man there. Neither voice of man, but horses tied and asses tied in the tents as they were.

" He says, we went to the Syrians. We couldn't find one enemy there, not even the voice of one of them. You know, I thought of, remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Nebuchadnezzar? Nebuchadnezzar throws them in that fiery furnace, and he looks inside there. He says, didn't we put three men inside there, bound? Yeah, King, we did. He says, I see four. None of them are bound. And the fourth one, he's like unto the son of God.

The Lord went into the furnace with them. Nebuchadnezzar brought them out. Not a hair of their head was singed. Their clothes weren't singed. They didn't even have the smell of smoke on them. Folks, for those of us in Christ, this is how sure the wrath of God will never come down on us because it came down on Christ. We don't even smell like smoke.

There's not even a voice of man in the camp. All our sins were put away by the cross. And now there is nothing about us that is repulsive to the father. Everything is good. Everything is pleasant.

You know, he says the asses are tied. The horses are tied. Everything is orderly. Everything is peaceful. And this is the message center. Jesus Christ made your peace with God. It's over. Everything is orderly. Everything's in order. Everything is peaceful. Everything is good. There's not even the voice of an enemy here. All the sin has been put away. The enmity that existed between us and our God, it's over. It's over. Just look to Christ. Just rest. Just rest.

Now, once again, there are two reactions to the message. Let's look at Jay Horm's reaction. Look at verse 13. I'm sorry, verse 11. And he called the porters, and they told him to the king's house within. And the king arose in the night and said unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we'd be hungry. Therefore, they've gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, when they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive and get into the city.

Jehoram says, now there's a trap. They know we're hungry. This is all an ambush. We're going to run out there to get all that food, get all those good provisions, and they're going to come out and they'll slaughter us as soon as we get outside the camp. This is an ambush. This is a trap. This is no good.

" Well, to the natural man, yeah, you preach grace. He says, well, that's a trap. That'll lead to sin. Tell me that my works don't count at all, that Christ paid it all. That'll lead men to sin. It's going to cause them to sin even further. That's a trap. That's an ambush. That's no good. It's a reaction of the natural man.

Let's look at another reaction. Verse 13. And one of his servants answered and said, I disagree. I got another plan. Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it. Behold, I say they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed and let us send and see.

Jay Horham said, it's a trap. Don't go out there. I said, we don't go. This messenger, and I have no doubt this is the same messenger Jay Horham took with him to take off Elisha's head, who heard this promise. He said, no, I disagree. I say we go all in. We only got five horses left. That's it. Five horses. Think about that. They're starving inside these city walls. All they have left is five horses. This is their only means of sustenance. We've only got five, and I say we send all five. We go all in. We don't hold anything back.

You heard the promise of God. You've heard the report of these lepers. I say we go and we see. And folks, that's faith. No reserves, no plan B, no safety net, not looking anywhere else. We go with everything we've got. This is all I've got. I am content, by the grace of God, to stand before the Father in all his perfection, in all his perfect sense of justice, on the grounds and merits of Jesus Christ and him crucified alone.

And his promise, his promise, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Ho, all ye who thirsteth, come to the waters. Come and drink freely. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Lord, you said, you promised. You said everybody who comes by Christ, you say everybody who trusts him and believes him, you said you'll receive them. Here am I, I'm willing to stand before you on Christ and him crucified and your promise. That's it, and I'm all in, I got nothing else. That's faith. That's faith, that's it.

And speaking of the promise, let's see how it ends.

Verse 14, they took their four two chariot horses and the king sent after the host of the Syrians saying, go and see. And they went after them under Jordan and lo, all the way, Christ the way, was full of garments and vessels. He is the way to the Father, folks. Garments and vessels, garments, all the way. He's the way of righteousness. What does God demand? Perfect righteousness. Righteous in Christ. And vessels. It actually would have been better translated here, armor, because that's what it's saying here, armor. So all these Syrians, they fled and they dropped their garments and they dropped their armor on the ground as they were fleeing. They said all the way to the camp, all the way to the father in Christ. Christ is that one way to the father. It's all righteousness. Ours is a just salvation. He satisfied the very righteous judgment of God and it's armor. He already took the blows for me. What does armor do? It protects. It takes the blows and you never feel it. He's our armor.

Read it again. They took therefore two chariot horses and the king sent after the host of the Syrians saying, go and see. And I went after them under Jordan and lo all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king and the people went out and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word. of the Lord. He promised and he delivered.

The promise of grace. If you're a sinner, you've been promised grace. It's a promise from God. Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Your enemies are gone, sinner. Everything has been freely provided. Rest. Just rest in Christ and trust his precious promises. He is a God who cannot lie and a God who cannot fail.

All right, stop there.