Turn with me back to Matthew
chapter 9. This will be the last of these
series of messages on Matthew chapter 9. A friend of mine wrote
me on the Internet and said, What's the matter? Is your Bible
broke? I said, No, you've got it, Matthew chapter 9. But this
has been a very beneficial study for me, and I hope it's been
for you. And we've looked at several different pictures of
the sinner and his Savior and how God saves sinners. We looked
at that palsied man who was beyond helping himself, lying in the
bed, and faithful men who brought him to Christ. That's what faith
does. You just think about that experience
that man had. Here he was. And they came and
the multitude, the press was all around Christ. They couldn't
get to him, but they figured out a way. And they got up on
that roof and took those tiles away and lowered that man down
into the presence of Christ. And we live in a world today,
I don't know how God is going to minister to this world other
than knowing that He is going to do it through the gospel.
But there's just hundreds and hundreds of ways out there for
this gospel to go out. What's he going to do? Well,
that's what faith does. Faith sits around and it thinks
up ways to promote the gospel. That's what it does. You can't
find me a person in here that Christ healed or cleansed or
raised from the dead that didn't go back and find some way to
bring somebody else to this man. It always does. That's what faith
does. And then we talked about Matthew over here. Matthew, he
wasn't, I guess, what you'd call a heathen. He was a tax collector,
is what he was. And he just loved to sleep by
the devices of this world. Contentment and satisfaction.
He had a good job. He had good contacts. He had
it made. He had it made. Thousands and
thousands of men right here, right around in our community.
They've got it made. They've got jobs. They've got
things. And this world just lulls them to sleep. They have no interest
in the Gospel. They're really not out there
trying to make a sham out of anything or not out there trying
to promote false religion. They just lull to sleep in the
world. They've got great jobs and great
families and no trouble. And they're just kind of on a
downhill side, on the shady side of life, kick back, taking it
easy. And if he can get you that way,
you're not interested in the things of God. And the Lord Jesus
Christ come along and called that man out of that into the
ministry of Christ. That's an effectual calling.
He just told Matthew, he said, follow me. And Matthew got up
and followed him. And then we talked about the
great physician who comes to helpless sinners and heals them
of all their awful plagues. And we talked about the old and
the new, the old world and the new world, and the old man and
the new man, the old and the new. We talked about Jesus' daughter
and her father who was convinced of God that all life was in the
giver of life, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we talked last week
about the two blind men who saw in their blindness what everybody
else that had eyes couldn't see. They couldn't see the promised
seed. And this morning I want to show
you from this demon-possessed man another picture of how God
saves sinners. And I hope God will give you
an interest and a submissive spirit this morning to listen
to and receive what I've got to say to you. Now, here's my
text over here in Matthew 9, verse 32. As they went out after the healing
of these blind men, as they went out, behold, they brought to
him a dumb man possessed with the devil. And when the devil
was cast out, the dumb spake, and the multitudes marveled,
saying, It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees
said, He casteth out devils through the prince of devils. Now, let
me tell you something, and I hope you'll never forget this. I want
you to listen to me. Religious men and women always
justify their hatred for the Lord Jesus Christ. They always
justify that hatred by casting an evil light on the person and
the work of Christ. They do it today, they did it
then, they've always done it. They cast an evil light on his
person and an evil light on the work that he accomplishes. One
man told Henry one time, he said, Your God is my devil. That's
exactly what these Pharisees were saying. I wouldn't worship a God like
that. A God like what? They've got to cast that evil
light on his person. They can't refute it. It's in
the Word of God. There is no argument for a sovereign
God. Who art thou that replies against
God? Isn't that what Paul said? Thou
wilt say unto me, why dost thou yet find fault? Who has resisted
his will? Nay, Paul said, but who art thou,
O man, that replies against God? Is the same form going to say
to him that formed it, why'st thou made me thus? Are you going
to call God into question? What kind of God do you got? I always have to cast an evil
light on it. And I tell you this, men will
serve a Jesus that will forgive their sins without demanding
satisfaction. They will serve a Jesus who is
all love and no judgment. They will serve a Jesus who is
always willing, never forbearing. They will serve a Jesus whose
whole being and coming and work has no specific end or purpose. They'll follow that Jesus. They'll
serve a Jesus who will let them do what they want to. They'll
serve a Jesus who needs their hands. He has no hands but your
hands, no feet but your feet. Have you ever heard men say that?
I've heard them say it a thousand times. I used to accuse Henry
Mahan of standing outside the church looking in the window
and listening. He'd quote us word for word. They'll serve Jesus who needs
those things and who looks on their work and finds value in
them. But the omnipotent Son of God
in whom are all the counsels and purposes of God, in whom
all these things were set and considered done before the foundation
of the world, Him they won't have. They won't have. They hate that Jesus in whom
is all life and all life. They hate him, and they will
always justify that hatred by casting an evil light on his
person and working. Now, let's look over here in
Luke chapter 11. There are a few more details over here in Luke
chapter 11. We kind of get the general idea of what happened
over here in Matthew 9. But there was a discourse that
followed this thing. It says, And the Lord, knowing
their thoughts, He knew where they were going with this thing. Now, here was a man possessed
of a devil, and this devil prevented him from speaking. He couldn't
talk. And I suppose if we wanted to, we could find some kind of
a spiritual communication. We could talk about that spiritual
communication we had with God and how he wasn't able to do
it and all that. I know that you could go that
direction with this, but that's not the gist of what he's saying
here. And Luke chapter 11 reveals that to us. We could go on and
on and on. There in Matthew, over and over,
he tells us in these different chapters, he said, out of the
heart, the mouth speaketh. With the mouth, confession is
made unto salvation. There are a lot of things that
we could say about speaking and not speaking, but that's not
what this verse is about. In Matthew 12, verse 37, he said,
By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned. But the heart of what took place
on this day was not about speaking or being silent. It wasn't about
words or communicating with men. What our Lord demonstrated in
this poor, demon-possessed man is an act of sovereign authority
in his heart. That's what took place. And they
totally missed it. They just totally missed it. And here in this scripture in
John chapter 11, also over in Matthew, the spirit that possessed
that man and the man himself both identified by the same name.
Did you catch it when I read it to you a while ago? Listen
to this, Luke chapter 11 verse 14. It says, And he was casting
out a devil, and it was done. That is, the devil was done. And it came to pass when the
devil was gone out, the done." Now he's talking about the man.
It's fake. Both the man and the devil, both
identified by the same name. And what I want you to see in
this miracle of Christ is that whatever it is that possesses
a man, whatever that is, that rules in the heart of that man,
becomes the man. It becomes the man. Whatever
it is that calls the shots, whatever it is that controls the members, whatever it is that dictates
to the mind and will and the ways of a man becomes the man. It is the man. I had a fellow
tell me one time, he said, well, God hates sin, but He loves the
sinner. You can't separate your sins
from the man. What possesses the man becomes
the man. This blessed miracle is not about
needing to speak, but about evil reigning in the man and the Lord
Jesus Christ casting it out. In verses 15 through 19, there
were some charges made. And the Lord said He knew their
thoughts. He knew where they were going with this thing, Russell.
He knew what they were trying to do. He knew what they were
trying to cover up. And they said, well, He cast
out devils by Beelzebub, and the Lord gave answer to that.
He gave a defense to that. He defended himself, and he said,
if Satan be divided against himself, his kingdom can't stand. Satan
can't cast out Satan. What would that profit him? How
would he get any gain by doing that? How is he going to establish
a kingdom if he goes in and kicks himself out? That's ridiculous. And so is everything else they
teach. It's ridiculous. It's got no meaning. It's got
no sense to it, no reason about it. But, he said, watch this
here in verse 20. Watch where the Lord goes with
this thing. But if I, with the finger of God, cast out devils,
no doubt, there ain't no doubt now, that the kingdom of God
has come to you. If I would, nobody can cast out
a demon except God, let that be established. It has never
been seen in Israel what they saw here. Ain't that what I just
read to you? Never been heard of. Nobody can cast out a demon
except God. And he said, if I, with the finger
of God, cast out demons, no doubt, no doubt the kingdom of God has
come upon you. For when a strong man arms, keepeth
his palace, his goods repeat. But when a stronger than he shall
come upon him, and overcome him, and take from him all his armor
wherein he trusted, he divides his foes. He that is not with
me is against me, and he that gathers not scatters." Now, let
me see if the Lord will show us a few things here about how
God saves sinners. The first thing I want you to
see is this. There is an evil presence that works in the hearts
of all those born of Adam. There's an evil presence. Men
don't just... You know, we just think everything
that happens in this world kind of contributes to this and that
and unforeseen things, things we call accidents because we
don't know what else to call them. Catastrophes because we
don't know what else to call them. I heard one of the newsmen
just going off the wall about Katrina when it hit New Orleans
saying how flabbergasted he was that somebody might think that
that might be the judgment of God. Well, if he controls all
things, whose judgment would you account it to be? He sends forth the storms and
the whirlwinds. All things were made by him.
All things consist by him. But there is an evil presence
that works in the hearts of all those born of Adam. And I don't
know a clearer statement of this than over here in Ephesians chapter
2. And I know I've wore this Scripture
out with you, but I don't care. I hope I say it so many times
that you can quote it in your sleep. Turn with me over to Ephesians
chapter 2. In these first three verses of Ephesians
chapter 2, Paul talks about the experience of grace. He talks
about men, and you go back and read the last few verses of chapter
1, and you'll see what I'm talking about. He said that same power
that it takes to call that sinner out of his death into perverty
is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The same
power. That's how much power it takes
to raise a dead sinner and bring him into the life of God. It
takes the same power, the same authority, Judgment of God that
justifies this man in that tomb and raises him and sits him at
his own right hand, because that is what it is. That is what has
to happen to you. He that believeth not, the wrath
of God abideth on him. He is under the wrath of God.
Judgment is on his head. The only way he can be justified
is for God to raise him up in justification and sit him at
his own right hand. That is what it takes to be saved.
Now, if you can do that, you can save yourself. But you can't
do that. And that's what Paul declares.
He goes back and shows you the beginning, the purpose of God,
the ordination of God, the appointment of God in Christ, the election
of God in Christ, all these things. He works his way down and gets
toward the end of the chapter and he says, here's the power.
It's the same power of God that raised Him from the dead and
set Him at His own right hand. And then he starts out chapter
2 and he said, hath he quickened. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins. In time past, you walked according
to the course of this world. That is, in agreement with a
majority in a similar fashion, thinking like they did, talking
like they did, acting like they did, reasoning like they did. Now, watch this. What's that
say? According to the prince of the
power of the act. The course of this world, that
way in which this world walks, is according to the prince of
the power of the air. It's right up his alley. It's
in complete agreement with Satan. That's what it is. He's the one
who established it. He's the one who keeps it going. He keeps his goods in peace.
He keeps his powers. All of his goods are in peace.
Listen to this, according to the prince of the power of the
air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. You see that? I thought demon possession was
something of the past. Sure you did. Just like you thought
leprosy was something in the past. Just like we thought a
lot of things was back in the past, they are present and prevalent
under this day. Am I saying that every man, woman,
and child is demon-possessed? No. I'm saying that this Spirit,
the Spirit of Him, the Spirit of Satan, the Spirit of Antichrist
is in men. How did He do that? He goes out
and He indwells men and He says things to men and their influence
causes another man to think that way and that influence causes
another man to think that way and so on. It's that Spirit that
worketh in the children of disobedience. Now listen, verse 3, among whom,
now watch this, we all had our conversation. Paul said, I was
right there with you. I was religious, but I walked
according to the course of this world. I was a Pharisee. I guarantee
you, the Apostle Paul, you couldn't get him to do anything that a
worldly man would do. There wouldn't be enough money
to bribe him to have done it. He was a self-righteous legalist. He was clean, born and said,
as a gun barrel and just as hollow. And what's this? We all had our
conversation, that word is behavior, in times past, in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. I want
you to see just a few verses over here in Revelation 18. Turn
with me over there, Revelation 18. The Spirit that sets the
course of this world, who promotes it, who is behind it, the power
behind it, the influence behind it, is the Spirit of Antichrist. He ain't anti-moral. They promote morality, don't
they? He's not anti-religious. He promotes
religion. He's not anti-good works. Our
Lord said, for which of the good works that I do do you persecute
me? Which one of these things are
you calling me into judgment for? Oh, they said, we're not
mad at you over good works. We're mad at you because of what
you said. Folks don't get mad at me because
I don't drink and I don't do this and I don't do that. They
don't get mad at you for that. They respect you for that. What
they get mad at me about is what I say. That's why they killed
the prophets. That's why they crucified the
Lord of Glory. That's why they got upset at
Him and would have took Him out and thrown Him off a hill. But
God prevented it because of what he said. And what he said was,
Christ is all. That's what he said. And he said,
and everything else is evil. Everything else is evil. Oh,
I pray, what shall I cry? He's going to send a voice, the
voice of one crying in the wilderness. You can read about it over there
in the book of Isaiah. He's talking about John the Baptist.
And when this voice has come, this voice said, what shall I
cry? And he said, cry, all flesh is drained. That's all it is. And all the goodliness of man,
he's just the flower of the grass. And he comes out and he blooms
a little bit and everybody sees it and falls down and worships
it and glory is in it for a little while. But boy, when that bud
turns and the wind blows on it and it dries up, the first thing
you want to do is go get a rake and get rid of it. It ain't pretty
no more. And he said, That's man. That's
man. He's not anti-moral, anti-religious,
or anti-works. He's anti-Christ. And he's opposed
to everything our Lord is, said, and did. He will not submit to
his rule. He will not obey his commands.
And he will not follow his directions. He's anti-Christ. Now watch this
over here in Revelation 18. And after these things, I saw
another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and
the earth was lighted with his glory." Who is he talking about?
I just read it to you in John chapter 1. He is talking about
Christ. He is talking about Christ. Now watch this. And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is
fallen, and has become the habitation of what? Now, you know what Babylon
is. I don't have to go back and read
half the Old Testament to you to prove it. Babylon is a picture
of religion, natural religion. That's what it is. And he said,
It has fallen and become a habitation of devils, and the hold of every
foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication
with her. And the merchants of the earth
are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And then down
in verses 23 and 24, he said, For by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived, and in her was found the blood of prophets,
and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. Boy, that is bad news, isn't
it? But listen to this back up in verse 4. He said, And I heard
another voice, I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come
up out of her, my people. Come up out of Babylon, that
you do not partake of her sins, and that you receive not of her
plagues. Babylon is worldly religion, and it's ruled by the spirit
of Antichrist. And its influence has gone out. That's what this passage is talking
about. This revelation of Christ reveals these things. It's gone
out into the world and it's touched everything that can be touched.
It's touched kings and kingdoms and preachers and religion and
all these things. It just went out and its influence
covers the earth, encompasses the earth. This power, the Prince
of Darkness, his influence has encompassed the whole world.
Chiefs of nations and men of wisdom and untold multitude.
Paul wrote Timothy and warned him. He said that the Holy Ghost
speaks expressly that in these latter days some shall depart
from the faith. Why would any man depart from
the faith? Why would any man leave the truth? Why would any man go anywhere
else, die back into that foolishness, die back into that form of bees. Why would you want to do that?
What would make a man do that? He said, they'll give heed to
seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Isn't that what he
said? That's exactly what he said.
I'm saying that there's a spirit of antichrist that rules and
reigns in the hearts of men by power and signs and lying wonders. He works, Paul said, with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that because they receive
not the love of the truth that they might be saved. They're
controlled by this evil spirit, and nobody seems to be aware
of it. That's the heart of its deceit. I was raised in religion. I never
even had a thought of anything evil concerning that. Some of
you were raised in it. Did you ever even have an inkling
the whole time? I'd stand up and sing them hymns
and pray and come forward and whatever else they had us to
do, we'd just do them things. One church I went to had foot
washings. They'd come up and wash each other's feet just like
we'd take the Lord's table or anything else. I never saw anything
evil in those things. That's how deceitful they are.
He said, there's going to come a time when it's so bad and so
close that it would actually deceive the very next. I think
we're living in them days. I know some folks like that,
if it were possible. But it's not possible. It's not
possible. I'll tell you what he's teaching
here in this verse. When Satan rules the house, his goods are
at peace. That's the whole purpose of coming
into the house. And he gives them an armor, and
they trust in it. You get what he's saying? He's
got to come in, overtake him, and take away from him all that
armor wherein he trusted. Now listen to this. Here's the
second thing I want you to see. When a stronger than he shall
come upon him and overcome him and take away from him all of
his armor wherein he trusted, he divides his foes. Here's salvation
when a stronger than he. when it is stronger than he.
It takes the sovereign Christ, the omnipotent Christ, the all-knowing
Christ, it takes the finger of God to cast out demons. I love Luke 11, verse 20, the
finger of God. Absolute authority, absolute
dominion, absolute wisdom, absolute control. Brother Tim James said
one time, he said, I love absolutes because with absolutes there
are no alternatives. That's what we see in Christ,
absolute power. If I, with the finger of God,
cast out devils, take away their rule, take away their house,
take away their influence and power, take away their lying
refuges and cast down their imaginations and tear down their strongholds,
Come upon Him and overcome Him and take away that which He defends
Himself with. Take away the facade of universal
redemption and universal love and take away that imaginary
armor of free will and decisionism. Take away that dream of earthly
signs and visions and evidences and all these things. Take away
that smoke screen, that smoke screen of family ties and family
traditions and family influence. He that hateth not mother, father,
sister, brother, he is not worthy of me." That's what our Lord
said. You're going to take some beloved member of your family,
and you're going to raise him up and worship him more than
you do God. That's what he's talking about right here. Casting
down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the kingdom of God, and brings into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ. You can read about that over
in 2 Corinthians 10, verses 4 and 5. Brethren, eternal life is
not a feeling. It's not an emotion. It's not
an experience. Eternal life is in knowing. Knowing. That's where it's at. It's in
knowing. In John 17, verse 13, he says,
This is life eternal, that they might know thee. This is life
eternal. This doesn't lead you to life
eternal, though it does. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou
sent. He said in verse 7, They have
known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are thee. They know thee, verse 8, surely
that I come out from thee. I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them because they are not of the Listen to
this over in 1 John. Turn with me over there, 1 John
2. I'm just going to scan through
here. I guess you don't have to turn. Just listen to these
things. I'll quote them for you to save some time. In 1 John
2, verse 29, he said, If ye know that he is righteous, ye know
that every one that doeth righteousness is of him, because he possesses
the house. He owns the palace. How do I know that Satan rules
the man? Because of what he says and because
of what he does. How do you know Christ rules
the house? Because of what he says and because
of what he does. He said we know that we pass
from death unto life because we love the brethren. Hereby
we know that he abideth in us by his Spirit which he has given
us. We are of God, John said. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. And then listen to this
over in 1 John 5. These things, he said, have I
written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God,
that you may know that you have eternal life. Faith knows. It knows. All through this chapter, in
chapter 2 of 1 John, Paul warns about the sin of our nature and
the spirit of antichrist that influences evil men. You read
chapter 2 of 1 John and see if that is not his subject. He is
talking about they went out from us, but they were not all of
us. For had they been of us, they no doubt would have continued
with us. He is talking about the spirit of antichrist. He says up here in verse 18,
ìIt is the last time, the last days, and as you have heard that
the Antichrist shall come, even now there are many Antichrists
whereby we know that it is the last time.î Thatís how we know
it. Verse 33, ìWho is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus
is the cross? God come into the flesh, the
Father and the Son in one person.î Verse 26, These things have I
written unto you concerning them that seduce you." That's what
religion does. It seduces. It plays on the lusts
and desires of the flesh. Verse 27, "...but the anointing,"
now here's what I want you to see, "...but the anointing which
you have received of him abideth in you." It lives there. It's set up its kingdom there.
It rules there. It rules there. He calls this
heart home. That's what that means. The anointing which you have
received of Him abideth in you. And you need not that any man
teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it is taught to you,
you shall abide in Him. That's what that Spirit teaches
you. That's what that anointing teaches
you. about Christ, and you abide in Him. You are complete in Him.
Listen to this on Hebrews 10, verse 15. He said, Whereof, that
is, this one high priest, this one testator, this one sacrifice,
this one in whom the volume of the book is written, who came
to do the will of God. And by that one offering hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified." He said, well, well. The Holy Ghost also is a witness
to us, for after that he said, before this is the covenant that
I'll make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I'll put
my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them,
and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Salvation,
the kingdom of God, comes to a man when the God-man comes
in, comes in in the truth of the gospel, in the convincing
of the Holy Spirit of God, and tears down those imaginations
and those high thoughts that you have in yourself. He tears
down them false refuges, and he sets himself up in the throne,
and he rules. He rules there. If he doesn't
rule there, he doesn't live there. Over in the book of Daniel, I
think it's in chapter 5, you might read about it after a while
and you go home. There's a beautiful picture of this. Nebuchadnezzar was a man that
God brought down in the dust, this great king of Babylon. He
built this huge empire. ruled the world. Their influence
went out, and his reign went out and encompassed the whole
world. The greatest kingdom there ever was was the kingdom of Babylon. And he built this huge garden,
considered to be by some of the wonders of the ancient world,
a huge garden. And he sat up there on that big
tower and overlooked that great city, and he said, Is not this
great Babylon that I built by the power of my might and for
my name and for the kingdom at my hands? Is that religion? That's religion. They stand up,
boy, I'm somebody. I did this. I did this. I made
my decision. I made my commitment. I did this. I joined the church. I did this. That's what Nebuchadnezzar was
doing. And God took him down in that same moment and caused
him to go out like the beast of the field, and caused his
hair to grow like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's claws,
until seven times, that seven is a number of perfection, until
the perfection of God seated in his heart. Then he said, I
never can measure, he said, when I come to myself. You come to
yourself if God ever comes in. He come to himself and he said,
Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and extol the God of glory. But Nebuchadnezzar had a boy. And this boy took over his reign.
And he didn't care nothing for God. He didn't care nothing for
any of those things. And old Belshazzar, he took the
goblets out of the temple. Those goblets sanctified, set
apart by God. And he drank wine in them. And
he had a good time. And he made fun of the things
of God. That's what Babylon does. They
make light. They cast an evil light on the
things of God, on the person and work of Christ. And that's
what these goblets were made to represent. Everything in that
tabernacle represented Christ and the work that He would come
to do. And old Belshazzar, he made fun of those things. And
he made light of those things. And one day he looked, and the
finger of God came out and started writing on the wall. And he didn't understand the
writing. And he called Daniel up and he said, What's that say? What's that say? He says, God
has numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balance
and found wanting, and thy kingdom is divided. The finger of God
cast him out. Ain't that what Christ is talking
about over in Matthew 9? Over in Luke 11? If I was the
finger of God, I'd come in and take over the kingdom. He took
it away from him and gave it to another. Give it to another. I think it was Darius who took
over his place. But when a stronger than he comes
upon him and overcomes him takes from him all of his armor wherein
he trusted. The kingdom is then ruled by
another. Christ rules the house. That's
what I'm asking you this morning. Who rules the house? Don't talk
to me about what you know and what you believe and what I am
and all these nonsense and then go on in your rebellion and do
what you want to do and just treat the powers of God as if
they were nothing. Treat creation as if it was nothing.
Treat all these established powers and rules of God as nothing.
When Christ runs the kingdom, everything follows His rule just
like it did when sin ruled the kingdom. You can read about it
over in Romans chapter 5. As sin, Paul said, has reigned
unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life. And if it doesn't reign, brother,
it ain't there. It ain't there. I preach a redemption that redeems,
a salvation that saves, a righteousness that lives righteous. I preach
sovereign grace. A man and a woman who all their
life have ignored the Word of God suddenly submit all their
hopes and their lives and their ways, everything, to this book. Now it begins to pour out my
heart before God, Paul. That's exactly what Paul's talking
about over there in the Thessalonians when he told them, he said, I
know your election of God. I know your election of God.
Because he said, you become followers of God and of us. He said, that's
how I know it. You receive His Word and you
rejoice in it under affliction. He said, you become examples.
You become examples of His grace. You sounded out the gospel. You
gave the gospel priority in your lives. He said, you turn to God
from your idols and you patiently wait for His coming. He said,
that's how I know your election of God. Peter said this, he said, Here
are the things that accompany faith. He said, Virtue, knowledge,
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity.
And if these things be in you and abound, they make you that
you shall neither, listen to this, neither be barren nor unfruitful
in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, brethren,
give diligence to make your calling and election. Where did he find
his calling and election? In virtue, huh? Ain't that where he found the
sureness of it? In virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness,
brotherly kindness, and charity. He said, Wherefore brethren give
diligence to do these things, for if you do these things, you'll
never fall.