If you will turn with me to 2
Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Tells us in chapter 1 that he's the preaching of the gospel.
the power of God unto salvation. Please God through the foolishness
of preaching to save them from belief. Chapter 2, he tells us
something of the mystery of the gospel, the work of the Holy
Ghost as he works in conjunction with men, and that the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their
foolishness to him. And then Paul in chapter 3 tells
us something about ministers. They're ministers of God. Ministers
by whom you're saved. Even as God has for every man. He tells us here the power in
chapter 3 tells us something about the power of the Lord. And then in chapter 4, He says,
Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we think not, but have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of God. If our gospel
be hid, It is hid to them that are lost, and whom the God of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure. What
treasure? Christ. Christ, the eternal,
all-blessed Christ. The revelation of Him, to know
Him, the revelation of God in Him. We have this treasure in
earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. And what he's talking about here
is men's hearing or not hearing. The excellency of this power
is not in the speaker. God will use the speaker. I'll
go as far as to say God only uses the speaker. But it uses
him in such a way as there's no doubt that the power behind
it is of God. Now that's what Paul's saying
here. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, and he did this
that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. And we're troubled on every side,
but we're not distressed. We're perplexed. but not in despair. We're persecuted, but we're not
forsaken. We're cast down, but we're not
destroyed. What's he saying? He's saying
God uses these means. He uses these means to save sinners. If you will, turn back with me
this morning to the passage that I read earlier to you in 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. I misquoted before the reading
about chapters 1, 2, and 3 that 1st Corinthians that I was quoting
from, not 2nd Corinthians. You're going to have to overlook
an old man. I titled the message this morning,
If Our Gospel Be Hid. If it be hid. In 2 Corinthians
4, verse 3, the Holy Ghost writes, But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. It's not uncommon for a lost
man to hear the gospel and walk away indifferent. It's dangerous,
but it's not uncommon. I've seen it many times. Nor
does it mean that God won't have mercy on him at some point. He did on me. He did on me. But I tell you, you need a stiff
warning about hearing the gospel. Be careful how you hear. Now,
if memory serves me right, I came here in the year 2008. I've ministered
to both this congregation and many others in various parts
of the country for the past 17 years. Brought verse-by-verse studies
all the way through the book of Genesis, the book of Exodus,
the book of Jonah, and the book of Ruth, and multiple sermons
in Isaiah and some of the other prophets. Had multiple messages
on nearly every book in the Old Testament. Verse-by-verse studies
as well as many passages throughout the entire New Testament. I don't
know of any passage anywhere in the New Testament that I haven't
dealt with either in a Bible study or in a message. I preach
to some of you sitting here today who have sat under my ministry
your whole life. You're just a little thing. Go
back there and look at the pictures on the wall. You're just little
babies. Young children. And yet the truth
concerning some of you is that my gospel is hid. It's hid. There's no light beaming in your
dark soul. There's no joy in your hearts.
There's no understanding in your minds. And this ought to be a
very sobering declaration to you. If our gospel be hid, who's
it hid to? The lost. Am I lost? If this gospel is hidden to you,
you're lost. That's who it's hidden to. Not
hidden to believers. Hidden to unbelievers. Well, what's a lost man? Well,
by Paul's inspired words, one in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. What's that
talking about? Well, the God of this world is
the God set before ignorant men by Satan's ministers. That's
the God. Satan is no God. He's not the
God of anything. And false religion is not a God,
although they think they are and act that way. The God of this world, with that
little g, read it for yourself there, the God of this world
is that God which is set forth by Antichrist. It's set forth
by false religion and gives us a false concept of who God is. It's an image inspired by Him,
the Antichrist religion, and He sits before men, a God that
loves everybody. He loves everybody. Pastures and years gone by and
they'd sit up there, boy, they'd candy coat that syrup was just
dripping from their mouth when they'd get up and talk about
God's love for everybody. He loves everybody. No, he don't. No, he don't. How do you know
that? He said he didn't. Jacob have I loved. Esau have
I hated. You got something to get around
that? Pretty plain, ain't it? False religion sets before men
a savior who died for everyone. And yet some go to hell. That's
not salvation. And that's not glorifying to
God. And oh, how I hate that saying.
I used to hear it almost every message when I was in the Nazarene
church. God done all he can do. And now it's up to you. You're
going to have to give Him a helping hand. It says, before men, a God that
loves everybody, His Son who died for everybody, and His Spirit
who's struggling to convince everybody. He's an unholy God. He's ready
and willing to compromise His name for the salvation of sinners. He's willing and able to overlook
their sins and not judge them for it. I'm not talking about eternal
judgment. I'm talking about a correction. They sit before men of God who's
willing to accept you on the basis of your own merits. And
there's no end to the variation of images set in the minds of
men. There's nothing complicated in
the doctrine of Christ to cause it to be hidden from men. It finds its beginning in the
eternal counsels of God. That's where you have to start.
There was God and then there was creation. Then there were
men. But somewhere back in for lack
of a better phrase, the council halls of eternity, God proclaimed
the salvation of sinners for the glory of His name. And Ephesians
1 11 says, talking about that Christ who is gathering all things
to Himself, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being
predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all
things after the council. What kind of counsel? Eternal
counsel of His own will. God chose a people in Christ.
He made full provision for them and His Son, and by the means
He foreordained to accomplish His purpose of grace. All of
these things are predetermined of God. Where does your gospel
start? Because if men have a gospel
that's contrary to this, it's their gospel. Not God's. God chose a people in Christ,
made full provision for them in His Son, and declared all
the means, foreordained all the means to accomplish His purpose
of grace. Well, you say, Preacher, I don't
understand these things. You don't need to. You're not
God. You haven't elected anybody,
nor have you ever gone to. Huh? Think about it. We're not
God. We're not the God of anything
or anybody. We're not involved in God's election. We're not involved in His predestination. I'm not involved in Christ's
incarnation. I can barely enter into this
satisfaction of justice that He accomplished on the cross. And what about effects or columns?
Explain that. This guy believes, this guy hates
it. Same message. I can't do all of these things,
nor can I understand all these things. I just know I'm the object
of it. And that's all I need to know. What makes these things so complicated
is an image set in men's minds and hearts through another gospel. Or where do they get it? They
get it everywhere. They get it at school. They get it at the
market place. They get it at the ball game.
It's just this whole world is filled with antichrist religion. And I'm going to tell you something.
A gospel understanding will not question God's election, crying,
He's not being fair to all men. It'll always be amazed that He
had mercy on anybody. And especially on me. Huh? The way of salvation. Christ
alone is the way. Full provision provided in Him. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. We're complete in Him. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Well, he might and he might not.
Oh, no. For any man being Christ, he's a new creature. Well, you mean after he believes?
No, I don't. I mean before he believes. He's
a new creature. God got action toward him the way he acts toward
the rest of this world. This man's sins have been provided
a savior. This man's disobedience has been
provided a perfect righteousness. He's a new creature. Old things
passed away. I'm not subject to the laws of
this world. I have a perfect law of liberty,
if I'm a believer. If I'm a believer. We say, well, how does a person
get in Christ of God? Are you in Christ Jesus? No other
way. No other way. When did you get
there? Before the foundation of the
world. He chose us in Him that we might be holy, without blame,
before Him being loved. Of God are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. But preacher, how do I know if
I'm one whom God chose in Christ and made full provision for? I'm going to read it to you.
John chapter 6, verse 37. It's straight from our Lord's
mouth. All that the Father giveth me
shall, no ifs, ands, and buts, shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. In verses 38 through 45, he gives
some particulars about this. They're all drawn of God. Drawn of the Father. No man is
going to come to Christ who is not drawn of the Father. He arranges
His providence. He sends His messengers. He said,
his son, all of these things are active and in full harmony
with his character, and he activates these things for you. And he gives us, but yet nobody,
nobody, they murmur, and he said, don't murmur. No man can come
to me, except my Father draw him. And he tells you what he
means by that, as it is written. They shall all be taught of God.
How's he going to do that? Through the means he ordained? Can you see that? Does that make
sense to you? Here's the will of God in this
whole thing, that they that see the Son and believe on Him may
be saved. That's it. That's it. In the glory of His great name,
He's chosen a people to salvation, and that salvation by sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. The Spirit begins to work
in the heart of the sinner, and he hears the gospel, and the
Spirit applies that gospel. He assures that man, this is
the gospel. You have no other way to know
it. We are God, little children. Greater is he that's in you than
he that's in the world. If any man be of God, he's going
to hear God's word. He's going to hear God's message.
That's the plain teaching of Scripture. Sanctification of spirit and
belief of the truth were unto you called by our gospel to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. God saves
chosen sinners through the preaching of the gospel. And let me tell
you something. The gospel preached is made effectual. It's made effectual. You can't
make it effectual. God makes it effectual. What
happens? He makes you willing in the day
of his power. He gives you ears to hear what
nobody else hears. I sat in a meeting in Lexington,
Kentucky. Brother Mahan had a stroke. He
was struggling to preach, and he preached on the prodigal son.
And I'll never forget how the Holy Spirit pressed that message.
I'll never forget it. I wept uncontrollably. I looked
over there after the sermon. I looked around. Everybody dried.
How come that? Huh? He makes it effectual. He stirs your heart. Paul said, I know your election
of God. My gospel came not unto you in word only. It wasn't just
another regurgitation of some old writer somewhere. No. Paul said, I thank God when
you heard me, you received not my gospel. You did receive my
gospel, not as that of a man, but that which is of God. This
is God's message or God's message. Let me tell you something. When
God works in your heart, you'll know that. Nobody will have to
explain that to you. You'll know. This is the truth. This is salvation. This is life.
This ain't a man standing up there saying some things out
of the Bible. This is the truth. This comes from God. He's talking
to me. He's telling me something. He's
doing something in me. It's made effectual. When you
receive the Word of God which you heard of us, you received
it not as the Word of men, somebody's opinion, personal persuasion or some doctrinal
perspective. You received it as it is in truth,
the Word of God. Now listen, which effectually
worketh also in you that believe. Jews said, if thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. He said, I told you. I told you. You believe not because you're
not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them, and they follow
me. The very means and power of God
attend the calling of His elect. That's what makes it effectual.
They're all willing in the day of His power. They all believe
what no other man can or will believe. They are made submissive. They receive the things of the
Spirit of God. And they become submissive both
to God and His messenger. And they're brought to rest in
Christ and rejoice in Christ and have much assurance, not
in themselves, not in their faith, not in their experience. That
assurance is in Christ. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. And then thirdly, the Son of
God came down from heaven and bought the right for chosen sinners
to hear his gospel and believe. Oh, you thought everybody had
the right. Oh, no. Oh, no. He bought the right for
you to hear. He did. He bought that right.
Hearing and believing are gifts of God purchased by the death
of Christ and arranged by the ascended Christ who sits on the
right hand of God with all power over all things in His hand. I've read so many stories by
preachers who ought to know better, and to make their calling seem
like something of chance. Something of chance. You think chance is anything
to do with God? No, He's God. He's God. Our Lord said to His disciples,
now listen to this, It's given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of God. How'd you get it? It's given
to you. Given to you. Boy, that'll take the swelling
out. We get all swelled up, boy. He knows how to take the air
out. Given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it's not given. And
before our Lord's ascension into glory, He said to His disciples,
All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore
and teach all nations, baptizing them, who? Believers, in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And there is a power that attends
the preaching and hearing of the gospel, without which it
has no effect on men and women, except to condemn, expose, and
make them miserable. They'll sit in a pew and they'll
wallow. Boy, I hope he shuts up pretty soon. And then fourthly, God sets apart
certain men and enables them to preach the sentence. Paul
said, wouldn't it please God who separated me from my mother's
womb, called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me that
I might preach Him among the heathen. There's a preparation
that goes on. There's a calling involved in
the preaching of the gospel that so separates that man from other
things that he can never go back. Books have been written on the
calling of certain men, and yet a library of books couldn't fill
in all the blanks. Here's what I get at. God has
a man for a people. And that man's whole life from
the time he's born, God's providence is preparing him for that office.
Everything he suffers, everything he gains, everything he does,
it's all a preparation for that office. The only thing missing
is he don't know the gospel. He has a man for a people. I
wonder, I thought about David when I was studying this. I thought
about David going out to meet Goliath. And he went over there
to the brook, and he looked around, and he picked out five smooth
stones. This is going to be the means that God uses to bring
down that guy. Wonder how long them pebbles
rolled around. Huh? One hole down in the water
ran over those pebbles, floods and calms, shaved off all the
rough edges, made that stone perfect to fall that time. That's
what I'm talking about. When God sets apart a man to
preach to somebody, his whole life is a preparation for it. He is a man for a people. And
there's a preparation in God's preachers that enables them to
preach. It is a whole life lived and
arranged of God to identify with those that he's preaching to. I can't explain in much detail
about it, because I'm still, even now, drawing from it, beginning
to understand it. I feel like I just broke through
the crust. Listen to this, David said, Purge
me with hyssop, and I'll be clean. Wash me, and I'll be white like
snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and
blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a clean heart, O
God. Renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit
from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Now watch this. Then will I teach transgressors
the way. then, not before. Educate me
to no end. I won't be able to talk to them
until this work is done. Then will I teach transgressors
the way and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Solomon said, the preparation
of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
It's from him. And this life, even before conversion,
is a life arranged of God, and after his conversion and divine
calling enables him to do what God has called him to do. As priests of our God, we are taken
from among men and are enabled as such to have compassion on
the ignorant and on them that are out of the way, for we ourselves
also are encompassed with infirmity. There is so much. goes into a
messenger of God to deliver a message. Paul said this is a faithful
saying. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of
whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtain
mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him. to
life everlasting. He set a pattern. And then fifthly, God arranges
his providence so that a certain sinner and a certain preacher
cross paths. It's going to happen. If you
want God to lift, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. Salvation, not just inclusive
of the great and eternal works of provision and saving offices
and decrees and means, but everything involved in the salvation of
his elect to the most minute detail. You know, I think about them
coming to anoint the king, and they came down there to Jesse's
house, and boy, he lined his boys up. And the old prophet looked at
them, he said, ain't him. Ain't him. Boy, don't you know
that boy walked away with his head down? Why not? I'm the eldest. I'm the heir. I am. And I imagine Jesse's looking
at those boys, and one by one they walked out the door. And
finally the prophet said, is this it? No. He said, we got
one out there in the field. we didn't even consider. Go get
him. I tell you, when I think about
myself, I'm the one nobody would have
considered. Not anybody. Not my family, not
my parents, not anybody. I lived a life so contrary to
God that it's shameful to even talk about it. Nobody, nobody
but nobody would have even considered me as a candidate for one of
God's elect. But God did. God did. My friend, God's not some invisible
figment of men's imagination. He's not just another abstract
point of theological speculation. God is. God, old Moses, he was
raised down there in the palace. He knew what kind of power they
held. And he'd been kicked out. And God said, you go down there
to Pharaoh and tell him. Tell Pharaoh? Huh? Yeah, yeah, you're gonna
go down there and tell Pharaoh, I'm gonna make you out as a God
unto them. He sent that man down there to
Pharaoh, and he said, Lord, who am I gonna tell him sent me? Said, you tell him I am. God
is. He is. Oh, you tell him I am sent you. Now, if there is no God, then
there's no Creator, there's no force of divine law, there's
no responsibility to the Creator, there's no government as to nature
and everything and anything in your life. It's just a roll of
the dice. But God is. And the perfect order
of this universe declares it, the very consciences of men declare
it. The invisible things of Him from
the foundation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that you're without excuse. We ain't got an excuse. How shall you hear without a
preacher, God said, and how is He going to preach except to
be sent? And for you to be here this morning
instead of somewhere else is an act of God's sovereign providence. Am I lit? I don't know. I don't
know if you are or not. But I can tell you this, God's
elect will always be brought to cross paths with His messenger
and you're here this morning. Huh? I'm not saying that to frighten
you, I'm saying that to encourage you. You may be one of His. You're here. You're being taught of God. And if you can hear what I'm
saying and can find comfort and joy and peace in it, this is
an act of God's sovereign grace. God's preachers have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, lying to folks so you can feel
the fuse, compromising the truth so men and women won't get mad
and maybe they'll leave you alone. They disguise the truth. So no
one really knows what they said when they get done saying it. False if we just plainly declare
the gospel of Christ and commend ourselves to every man's conscience
in the sight of God, and if our gospel be hidden. Is it? Is it? Can you listen to what I'm saying
and go home unaffected, unmoved, unmotivated? Can you hear what
I'm preaching to you and go home with no concern for your soul? Well, just go on with your life.
Just get on with it. Being given the greatest privilege
in this world, can you just sit here and play on your phone? Better listen to me. If our gospel
be hid, it's hid to the lost. Kid to the lost, they don't know
God. And you're being told who God
is. And I'm telling you who reveals Him, His Son. All of mankind are lost. David
said they'd go astray as soon as they'd be born, speaking lies,
drinking iniquity like water, Job said. They call good evil
and evil good because they don't know the difference. chains of
darkness binding them, a veil of ignorance blinding them. And the saddest thing of all
is they hear this gospel and find no comfort in it. They love darkness rather than
light. Well, how are they lost? What
constitutes this indifference? Their minds have been blinded.
Minds have been blinded. They think things are going to
be some other way. No clear line between truth and
error. No clear distinction between
life and death, sin and righteousness, darkness and light. His eternality
and power have nothing to do with salvation. He's subject
to an ever-changing society and he must change himself. in order
to minister to men. Men hear his gospel, but they
don't hear it, and they walk away unaffected. Oh, my soul. And you can't hear his gospel
and walk away unaffected unless you're lost, unless you're blinded
with the idolatrous image of God in this world. And there
is but one hope for such a one as you, that the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto you. And
if he does, you'll be sitting in a place just like this, listening
to a man just like me. And all of a sudden, that message
will come alive. That message will grip your soul.
It'll be like nothing you've ever heard. It'll get a hold
of you and it won't turn loose. It won't turn loose. It won't
leave you any way out. You'll go to Christ or perish
forever. One of the greatest pictures
I ever seen of this in the Scripture is when the Lord took His prophet
and carried him out in the Spirit and He said, Son of man, what
do you see? Dry bones. Dry bones. Can these bones live? I don't
know. I don't know. But oh Lord God,
they'll know us too. Preach to them. What? Dry bones? Preach to them. Teach them. Reason with them.
How you gonna do that? Because God the Spirit's gonna
attend his gospel. He'll do the work. He'll do what
you can't do. You just get up and tell him
what I said to tell him. I'll take care of the rest of
it. Oh, death has no comprehension
of life. It never evolves into wisdom. And dead, dry bones just lie
where they fell until judgment. And then the dead, small and
great, will stand before God. And death and hell will be cast
into the lake of fire. What are you trying to say, preacher?
I'm trying to set before you the reality of being here this
day and hearing the gospel. That's what I'm trying to do.
If our gospel be heard, this is the gospel. This is the way
of salvation. No other way. Please God through
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Will
I be indifferent to that? I will if I don't know who God
is. Oh, is the gospel here? Our Lord
thanked His Father that He had hid these things from the wise
and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Oh, my soul. He hid these things
in a ceremonial law. He hid them in types and figures.
It was hidden in the parables and is even now hidden in the
invisible and spiritual work in the heart. Kingdom of God
cometh without observation. And soon it'll be hidden forever. And even now, God may give you
over to a reprobate mind to believe in lies. I've seen it, haven't
you? I've seen men sit here for years
in this place. Listen to me shake my hand. I
even preached the funeral of one of them's wife. Amen, amen, amen. Out the door
they go. Where you going? Where you going? If our gospel be healed. You
see what I'm saying? Thank God it's not hid to his
people. It's not hid in the gospel we preach. And even though these
men are lost, I'm sent to preach to lost sinners. That's an incurring
of heat. God doesn't just throw you away. He may give you disabled blindness. He may do that. He did Israel. They never got what they wanted. The election obtained it and
the rest were what? Blinded. That's judicial blindness. You start playing games with
the gospel, I'm going to tell you something. God turned you
over to yourself. There's nothing worse that could
happen to a man than for God to turn them over to themselves.
Start making their own decisions. planning out things and what
I'm going to do and I'm going to go here and I'm going to work
there for a while and I'm going to get this and I'm going to
say, soul take my ear. Oh, you don't want to be turned
over to yourself. You want to submit yourself to
God. Believe on his son and be saved. May the Lord use this
message. To his name's honor and glory.