False Dreams and Vain Comforts

Q: What does the Bible say about false prophets?

The Bible warns against false prophets who lead people away from true faith with lies and false dreams (Zechariah 10:2-3). The Bible repeatedly warns believers to be vigilant against false prophets who present empty promises and lead people astray. In Zechariah 10:2-3, the Lord highlights that idols and false diviners provide only vanity and false comfort, leaving their followers troubled and without true guidance. This warning is reinforced throughout scripture, as seen in passages like Jeremiah 23 and Matthew 7:15, where false teachers are described as wolves in sheep's clothing, ultimately leading people away from the truth of God’s Word.

Q: How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Salvation is true and guaranteed by God's sovereign will and the atoning work of Christ (Romans 9:16). The truth of salvation by grace is based on the complete sovereignty of God and the efficacy of Christ's atonement, as articulated in Romans 9:16: 'So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.' Throughout the Scriptures, we see reaffirmation that salvation is not a product of human effort but entirely the work of God. Christ’s sacrifice was not a mere attempt to save; it accomplished complete redemption for those chosen by God. Therefore, the assurance of salvation rests on God’s promises and His will, not on any human conditions or preparations.

Q: Why is coming to Christ important for Christians?

Coming to Christ is essential for true spiritual nourishment and salvation (John 7:37). Coming to Christ is crucial because, as stated in John 7:37, Jesus invites all who are thirsty to come to Him for living water. This act of coming to Christ symbolizes total reliance on Him for spiritual sustenance, peace, and eventual salvation. Many people may engage in religious ritual without experiencing the true life that is found in Christ alone. The sermon emphasizes that no religious activity, doctrine, or personal preparation can substitute the need for a direct relationship with Christ, who alone fulfills every need and quenches the spiritual thirst of sinners.

Q: What are the dangers of legalism in Christianity?

Legalism distorts the gospel and leads to vain comforts rather than true salvation (Galatians 5:4). Legalism presents a significant danger as it distorts the gospel of grace by suggesting that human effort contributes to salvation. In Galatians 5:4, Paul warns that if believers return to legalistic approaches, they fall away from grace, indicating that reliance on works leads to spiritual emptiness. The message underscores that true salvation is solely dependent on Christ’s finished work and that any attempt to supplement grace with human merits ultimately results in vain comfort, thereby neglecting the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement.

Q: How does God's love relate to salvation?

God’s love is effectual and purposeful in achieving the salvation of His chosen people (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is not mere sentiment; it actively achieves the salvation of His people. In Jeremiah 31:3, the Lord declares, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.' This love undergirds the entirety of His saving work, demonstrating that His love fulfills its intent by drawing sinners to Himself. When contrasted with notions of universal love that imply indifference about the fate of the unredeemed, the biblical understanding emphasizes that God's love is infinitely more powerful and purposeful, securing the salvation of those whom He has elected.

The Apostle John tells us about
a day at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.
Our Lord Jesus saw the people returning from the feast they
had gone up to Jerusalem to observe. They had kept all the rites and
ceremonies of their now empty, meaningless religious ceremony.
They had done all that they knew to do. Their religious leaders
had told them to do things and they had performed them with
diligence. But their religion had left them
empty. They were just as thirsty when
they came down from Jerusalem as they were when they went up.
Are you like that? Has your religion left you empty? Are you still thirsty? Oh, you've
done all that the preachers have told you to do. Been baptized. You join the church, you observe
the ordinances, you've been told that you're saved, that your
sins are all forgiven, and that you're a child of God. You sing,
as we did just a few moments ago, blessed assurance, Jesus
is mine, oh what a foretaste of glory divine. But your soul
is still empty. Your religious bed is too short
and you can't stretch yourself out on it. Your covering of righteousness
is a covering that's too narrow to wrap yourself in it. You possess
none of that peace you hoped for. Your comfort is vain comfort. I ask again, has your religion
left you thirsty? If so, will you hear what the
Lord Jesus cried in that day, in the last day, the great day
of the feast? Jesus stood and cried saying,
if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. If any man thirst,
let him come to me and drink. Come to Christ this day. Oh God
graciously force you to come and drink from this fountain
of living waters. All that you could ever need
to quench your soul's thirst is abundantly provided in Christ
Jesus. His atonement brings peace to
the conscience. His righteousness meets all the
demands of God's holiness. His grace is sufficient. He is
able to save the very chief of sinners, to save to the uttermost
all who come to God by Him. Christ alone is the sinner's
hope and consolation. Though your soul was utterly
famished with thirst, the Lord Jesus says, if any man thirst,
let him come to me and drink. Oh, come to him and drink. Withdraw with joy water out of
the wells of salvation. Every needy, thirsty soul is
welcome. Oh, how I wish I could communicate
this to you. If you thirst, The water of life
is for you. If you hunger, the bread of life
is for you. If you are weary, rest is for
you. Christ is everything you need. And he bids sinners come to him
freely, generously, graciously. He says, if any man thirst, let
him come unto me and drink. You must come to Christ. Not
to the front of the church. that won't do you any good. Not
to this preacher, that won't help you at all. Not to some
priest, that'll never be of benefit. Not to the soul winners, not
to the church, not to the ordinances, not even to doctrine. These things
will all leave you empty and thirsty. And whatever comfort
you have will be but vain comfort derived from those things. You
must come to Christ. Right where you are, without
moving a muscle, without saying a word, come to Him. Don't wait for some imaginary
altar call that men give, calling you to come to Christ. Come now!
Right where you are, come to the Savior. You must come to
Him. But Pastor, I feel like I'm not
prepared. Nowhere in this book is there
even a hint of preparation needed. Our Lord doesn't say you must
prepare to come and drink. We often talk about preparing
to approach God, preparing to pray, preparing to trust Christ. What nonsense. How are you going
to prepare yourself for God? No, no, no. Come just as you
are. But pastor, I am so sinful, so
obnoxious, so vile. It matters not what your character
is. The Savior says, come unto me
and drink. With those things in mind, I
want you to turn to Zechariah chapter 10. My text this morning
is verses 2 and 3. And the title of my message is
False Dreams and Vain Consolation. False Dreams and Vain Consolation. In the first verse of this tenth
chapter, The Lord God, our Savior, that same one who stood in John
7 and said, if any man thirsts, let him come unto me and drink,
calls for us to ask of Him rain in the time of the latter rain.
And He promises to give to all who ask of Him showers of rain. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ freely
gives to all who seek Him showers of blessings. He shall come down
like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.
Now, let's look at our text, and you will see why there is
such a drought in the souls of men. For the idols have spoken
vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false
dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore
they went their way as a flock. They were troubled because there
was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against
the shepherds, and I punished the goats. For the Lord of hosts
hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them
as his goodly horse in the battle." Now I want to show you four things.
These two verses speak of false prophets. and of false dreams,
of vain comfort, and of a divine visitation. First, the Lord God
here declares that eternity-bound sinners have been deceived by
false gods and false shepherds who have given them a false peace.
For the idols, that is, the gods of man's making, have spoken
vanity, and the diviners The preachers who speak for those
idols have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort
in vain, therefore they went their way as a flock. They were
troubled because there was no shepherd. Israel had been brought
into Babylon, brought into utter captivity for 70 years. Because
they had been deluded by priests and prophets who spoke lies to
them in the name of God, they pretended to be the servants
of God, the servants of Jehovah. And yet they were the servants
of idols, the gods of man's making. And they brought Israel into
bondage, teaching them to worship and serve idols with their false
dreams. Our God and Savior warns us and
warns us and warns us. He warns us and warns us and
warns us. Throughout the Old Testament
and throughout the New, beware of false prophets. Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly. They are ravening wolves. They
are men who transform themselves into ministers of righteousness.
But they are really the servants of Satan. Thursday afternoon,
Brother Gary Perkins came up. We had lunch together. He had
a friend with him. And this friend of his, after
lunch, asked me a question. He seemed to be a very, very
nice fellow. He said, why do you think churches today are
like they are? The man doesn't attend church,
not with any regularity, has no interest in the things of
God, just a nice fellow. But he's observed what any sane
man ought to be able to observe unless his eyes are blinded and
he cannot see. He's observed that the religion
of this age is utterly contemptible. And he asked me, why do you think
churches today are like they are? I answered immediately. The churches of our day are in
the shape they're in because the teachers, preachers, and
religious leaders of our day are self-serving false prophets
who fleece the sheep rather than feeding the sheep. They are men
who serve their own lust and line their own pockets, sacrificing
the souls of men to the idols that they serve. Churches are
in the shape they're in because preachers serve themselves and
not the souls of men. They serve their own lust and
not the glory of God. That which they preach is determined
not by what God reveals, but by what men will accept. Like
the politicians, we're headed into election season. And if
you pay attention, read the newspaper or watch the news on television,
this is how they determine their convictions. The wind's blowing
that way, let me get in front so somebody thinks I'm a leader.
Nothing else, nothing else. And so it is with politician
preachers. The contemptible religion practiced
in our day, and the religion of our day is utterly contemptible,
is the result of blind men following blind preachers who practice
idolatry with every effort. These diviners, as God calls
them, of good name, soothsayers, are men of whom God speaks plainly
in His Word. He tells us that they are blind
and have no understanding. They turn each one to their own
way, each one seeking his own gain. They care nothing for the
flock, but rather make merchandise of men's souls. They pretend
to be great soul winners, but in reality are great soul deceivers. They do not go in search for
lost sheep, but rather they search for unsuspecting souls that can
be easily duped with religious profession. They don't seek the
salvation of men's souls, but the money men have in their pockets
are the position and the power they can derive from having them.
Feeding themselves, they fleece the sheep. They heal the wounds
of people slightly, say, peace, peace, when there is no peace.
And in order to do so, they willingly, willingly, willingly distort
the revelation of God and proclaim as the truth of God the false
dreams of their own depraved hearts. God says they prophesy
lies unto them. Oh, Brother Don, You're being
awful hard on preachers. Not near as hard as I want to
be. And not near as hard as God is. Let me show you a couple
of passages. We'll just look at a couple.
Turn to Isaiah 56. Isaiah 56. Here's how God describes it. Verse 10. His watchmen are blind. They are all ignorant. They are
dumb dogs. You remember Paul in Philippians
3 warns us, beware of dogs. In the law of God, God forbade
that the price of a dog should be brought into the temple. It
wasn't allowed. Well, what's he talking about?
I've heard folks in the pretense of religion say, oh, I can't
sell a dog. God won't accept tithe off of a dog. It's got
nothing to do with that. He's talking about male prostitutes.
And that's what God calls men who prostitute the gospel for
their own gain. Dogs. Dumb dogs. They cannot bark. They don't
have the ability to sound a warning because they don't even know
danger is around the corner. Sleeping. Lying down. Lazy, lazy, lazy. Good for nothing. Worn out. Lazy
men. Loving to slumber. Yea, they
are greedy dogs. You can't ever give them enough.
They're never satisfied. They are shepherds that cannot
understand. Now watch this. Here's the whole
problem. They all look to their own way. They're looking out
for number one. Everyone for his gain from his
quarter. Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah 23, verse
1. Woe be to the pastors that destroy
and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord. Therefore thus
saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed
my people, ye have scattered my flock and driven them away
and have not visited them. Behold, I will visit you, the
evil of your doings. Chapter 50, verse 6. My people have been lost sheep. Now watch this, watch this. Their
shepherds, their shepherds have caused them to go astray. Their shepherds have caused them
to go astray. Oh, but Brother Don, that's talking
about Old Testament times. That's in the Old Bible, folks,
there. What foolishness. The Apostle Paul said to the
Ephesians, I know this, after my departing shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. I've seen it happen
over and over again. Also of your own selves shall
men arise speaking perverse things. How come? Only one reason, to
draw away disciples after themselves. Jude tells us there are certain
men, crept in unawares, who were before old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness.
That is, denying the salvation can be altogether the work of
God's free grace. It will lead you to live in sin,
denying the Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, Woe
to them, for they've gone in the way of Cain. That is, the
way of free will works religion. They ran greedily after the error
of Balaam for reward. They do what they do for personal
gain. And they perished in the gainsaying
of Korah. That is, they perished because
of their love for pride, desiring men to honor them and see them. These are spots, dangerous, dangerous
Spots of rock under the shoreline on which men make shipwreck of
their souls. Spots in your feast of charity
when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. Clouds
they are, promising water, but clouds without water. carried
about of winds, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine,
trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up
by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their shame,
wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Now, second, these false prophets
delude and destroy the souls of men with their false dreams. Look at this. The diviners have
seen a lie. And they've told false dreams. The prophecy made by the Apostle
Paul in 2 Timothy chapter tells us that in these last days the
world shall be inundated with the very same kind of preachers
as those prophets and priests, the diviners who led Israel into
Babylonian captivity with their lies. And Paul's prophecy has
come to pass in this day. Around the world, particularly
in our own country, and specifically in Danville, Kentucky, Religious
people gather every week in solemn assemblies in the name of Christ
to worship God. They read their Bibles, they
say their prayers, they give their money, they invoke God's
blessings. They're devoted. I don't question
that. They're sincere. I don't doubt
that. I have friends and family just like you do. Devoted, sincere as all get out. They have faith, I don't question
that, but it's a false faith. They have hope, I don't question
that, but it's a false hope. They comfort themselves with
what they call salvation, but it is a vain comfort. Having
been led and taught by blind and ignorant men, this is how
Paul describes them. They will not endure sound doctrine. How do you know that this is
true? True of these people, they won't endure sound doctrine.
But after their own lust, they heap to themselves teachers having
itching ears. That is, they call preachers
to preach to them and appoint teachers to teach them who will
tell them exactly what they want to hear. They turn away their
ears from the truth and have been turned unto fables. Now, I'm not talking about Pateists
and Hindus. I'm talking about men and women
who profess to know, worship, and trust the living God, believing
in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His Spirit. I'm
talking about your family and mine. I'm talking about your
friends and mine. I'm talking about your neighbors
and mine. Having turned away from the truth, they've been
turned to fables. You know what a fable is. When I was a boy, I used to love
to hear folks read Aesop's fables. I was just a kid in school, a
little kid. I remember them now. They were stories, nice stories. Stories concocted by some man
in his own brain. No revelation from God, just
a story. Stories that were intended to teach good moral lessons to
teach Dotty to be a good boy. That's the purpose. But they
were, in fact, lies. Just lies. Moral stories which
were lies to teach boys to live right. Well, universally, there
are four common religious fables dreamed up by men to teach moral
religious principles. They are universally embraced,
universally proclaimed, universally believed, and universally defended. These fables will be presented
throughout this city today. and religious organizations throughout
the city. I'm talking to every brand, every
brand of religion in this county. And I know of no exception in
this county except right here. If there is an exception, please
let me know and I will announce it in the front page of the paper
whatever it costs. If there's an exception. Every
brand of religion there is gives out these four fables. Fables
presented to teach folks to do good. and be good, presented
as the truth of God, but they are in fact lies that are damning
to the souls of men. Everywhere today men are being
told that God loves everybody. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
God wills the salvation of all men. He wants everyone to be
saved. The Lord Jesus Christ shed his
blood and died to redeem and save all people. God the Holy
Spirit calls all men to Christ and tries to save all men. He strives to get all men saved. Now, let me ask you some questions. If these things are true, if
these things are true, if indeed God loves all men without exception,
What does the love of God have to do with the salvation of any
man? If God loves folks who go to
hell just like He loves folks who go to heaven, what does His
love have to do with the difference? If He loves Judas just as He
loves Peter, what difference does His love make? If He loves
Esau just as He loved Jacob, what's the difference in His
love? What does his love have to do with any man's salvation?
The answer is nothing. Nothing. To talk about God-loving
folks who perish in their sins is to declare that the love of
God is nothing but a meaningless, helpless desire and passion of
good in the heart of God, and his love is no more effectual
for anybody than your love or mine. His love is no more meaningful
than your love or mine. Indeed, his love is even less
than ours, because his love performs nothing. Nothing. I love those
two grandbabies as I did their mother when she was growing up.
Love them. And I'm not inclined too much to say no to them. But if we'll getting ready to
get into something that's going to hurt him. I don't just say
to him, now we'll step out of the road, that truck's coming
down the road and it'll kill you. Well, you don't want to interfere
with his will. Oh, how could you interfere with
that child's will? What kind of love interferes
with that child's will? What kind of love doesn't? But what
do you do? You grab him by the nap of the
neck and pull him out of the road, if you love him. And God's
love is not just His desire to save His people. God's love for
His own accomplishes the salvation of His people. Love that is universal
is meaningless, useless, vain love if the Lord God wills the
salvation of all men. I had a fellow last week, came
up to me after service, wanted to argue with me about God willing
the salvation of all men. Oh, but you have to say there's
some sense in which God wills everybody's salvation. Would
you show me that in this book? Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that He does. Is that what the book says? I
will do all my pleasure. Is that what the book says? If
God wills the salvation of all men, and some men are lost anyway,
what does the will of God have to do with anybody's salvation?
The obvious answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing. This is what
the book says. Salvation is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Here's a third question. If the Lord Jesus Christ shed
his blood for all men alike, If he died to redeem and save
all men, if he made atonement for all men, and some go to hell
anyway, what does the blood of Jesus Christ have to do with
anybody's salvation? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If it is, as it is universally
asserted, Christ died to save all men and some were not saved,
then that blasphemous absurdity must be accepted that Christ
died in vain for some. And I hear preachers say it.
I've read it numerous times. I hear preachers say it. Oh,
won't it be a shame that Christ died in vain for you? Yes, it
would. A great shame to Him. To Him. My first theology professor,
Back in 1968, he made this statement. He said, hell is an infinite
trophy to the failures of the triune God to save the multitudes
who are there. He did all he could to save them. He failed. Whatever that God is, he ain't
worth spits. He ain't worth spits. Oh, that's
just a mistaken notion! That's a mistaken God! No, Christ
didn't try to redeem, He redeemed. He didn't try to make atonement,
He atoned. He didn't try to ransom His own, He ransomed them. He
didn't try to obtain eternal redemption, He obtained eternal
redemption. He didn't try to remove the curse
of the law, He removed the curse being made a curse for us. He
didn't try to put away somebody's sins, He put away all the sins
of all His people forever! And by His blood, He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. Here's a fourth question. If
God the Holy Spirit is gracious to all men, if He calls all men,
if His power is exercised upon all men for the saving of their
souls, and some perish anyway, what does the power, the grace,
and the call of God the Holy Spirit have to do with anyone's
salvation? The obvious answer, the only
possible answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing. To suggest
that he tries to save all and some aren't saved is to say that
he has no power to give life, no grace to regenerate, no ability
to save anyone. To say that God loves all people
alike. that he wills the salvation of
all sinners alike, that Christ died to redeem all and save all,
that the Holy Spirit strives to save all, is to declare that
salvation is not of the Lord at all, but rather salvation
is the response and the work of man that saves himself. It
is to declare that God has done all he can, but he can't save
a flea. Salvation's up to you. And I'm
telling you, any man who stands before men and declares that
salvation in any way is up to you is telling you a false dream. He is a diviner, a soothsayer,
a self-serving false prophet. The fact is, the love of God
is that which is the very root of our
salvation. He says, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with lovingkindness
have I drawn you. We love Him. Can you give me
the next word? Can you give it to me? Because
His love is the cause He first loved us. Our Lord Jesus Christ
came here and redeemed us by His blood, and He accomplished
eternal redemption for us, and His blood is our salvation. His
accomplishments at Calvary is our salvation. God saves sinners
by the effectual power of His omnipotent will, and God the
Holy Spirit, He doesn't Come and try to get sinners to be
saved. He's not trying to get you to
believe on Jesus. He's not trying to get you to
pretty please accept Jesus. He's not exercising a certain
measure of power on you so that he elevates you to a position. Now, now it's up to you. And you make the final choice.
If the final choice is yours, everything is yours. And the
glory is yours. Oh no, unless God the Holy Spirit
comes to you in the saving omnipotent power of His grace and plants
life in your soul where there was no life before, you're going
to hell. That's all there is to it. But
if you find yourself believing on the Son of God, you who cannot
believe, If you find yourself coming to Jesus Christ, you who
will not come. If you find yourself embracing
God's darling Son, it is because God loved you from eternity,
and willed your salvation, and gave His Son to redeem you, and
now He's called you by His omnipotent grace. I'm stating as clearly
as I know how to state that salvation is of the Lord. It is God's work
from start to finish. But there's a third thing mentioned
in our text. Go back to Zechariah 10.3. You'll
see that the Lord God, our blessed Savior, declares that all who
proclaim the dreams of the false fables of free will, works, religion,
saying peace, peace when there is no peace, do so only to the
ruin of men's souls. Look at this. They comfort in
vain. When I was a seven-year-old boy,
I went to church. I forgot what
the preacher was talking about. It didn't matter. But as usual,
he wasn't talking about anything, I'm sure. I learned that later. But he told scary stories about
hell. Oh, man, I was scared. And folks,
after the same invitational song, folks started to walk to the
altar. Imagine they had an altar in a Baptist church. Started
to walk up to the altar. And folks got all stirred, and
me too. I slipped out after so many verses
and walked up front and up down. The fellow put his arm around
my shoulder. I know him well. Used to be a
pilot with Fremont Airlines. Big man. Nice, nice man. Deluded, but nice. And he took
me down to Romans Road. Asked me if I wanted to go to
hell, and I sure didn't. Asked me if I wanted to go to heaven,
and I sure did. And he said, well, you believe in Jesus? And
I said, what do you mean? He said, well, just repeat after
me. And I repeated after him. And he's crocodile tears. He
would cry as bad as I was. He said, oh, Don, son, you're
saved now. You went through that, didn't you, Bobby? Everything's alright? Don't ever
let anybody tell you, you're not saved! And I walked out that
door as a seven-year-old boy, just as empty as I was when I
came in. But I comforted myself. Saved. Every time I'd get in trouble,
somebody would try to give me some more comfort. You're alright.
God's forgiven you. You just need to rededicate yourself.
Saved. Your sin's been forgiven. Saved. Saved. And as I got older,
Every time I'd hear the words, I'd think to myself, you don't
know what you're talking about. You don't have a clue. I don't
have any idea what truth is, but you haven't got it. You haven't
got it. I don't have any idea who God
is or what salvation is, but it's not here. This is infinite
vain comfort. Nothing with which I wanted to
die. I don't have any doubt. There's no one here, no one here
who foolishly imagines the salvations by your works. But I am just
as comfortable stating that I'm sure there are some here who
still vainly imagine that somehow you must in some measure supplement
the work of Christ. And you keep looking inside yourself
for something. You've got to do something. Something
to supplement His atonement. Something to supplement His grace.
Something to add to Him. And when you do, you've made
Him nothing to you. Nothing. Oh, Brother Don, I've got to
do something to make up for my sins. I had a call earlier this
morning while I was getting dressed, just before I came over here.
A fellow from Australia called, obviously from the sound of his
voice, an old man. I don't have any idea who he was or where
he got the videos. He said, I've been watching some
of your video messages. He said you made a statement on there.
I just had to call and tell you what it did for my soul. Don't try to make up for your
sins with God. Christ made up for everything. Either he made up for everything,
Rex, or he made up for nothing. Just that simple. Just that simple.
Past, present, and future, they were all future what he made
up for. He put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself.
Oh, but don't we need to do something to make ourselves more righteous,
more holy? As long as you keep trying, you keep trying to save
yourself. All righteousness and holiness
is in Christ and received by faith. We don't make atonement
by believing on him. We receive the atonement and
we have faith to receive the atonement because he has atoned
for our sins. Because he has purchased for
us eternal redemption. John Trapp made this comment.
If you entertain the hope of salvation by something you do,
your will, your worth, your work. Your religion will finally serve
you as Absalom's mule served her master, whom she left at
his greatest need to hang between heaven and earth as rejected
by both. Lo, such are all creature comforts,
golden delusions, lying vanities, apples of Sodom, they're neither
true nor yours. Been brought not into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God, but into religious bondage by false
dreams and vain comfort, just like the Jews were brought into
Babylon. Your religion has left you like them, troubled. Look
at that word, troubled. Troubled. Here's the word. Looking down. Beaten. Depressed. Brow beaten. I had a fellow sitting
on the porch back one day, talking about how great a preacher. Oh,
every time I go to church, I just come away just so beat down.
I said, I quit going there. I wouldn't listen to that nonsense.
God's servants don't feed his people, they feed them with knowledge
and understanding. God said, my anger was kindled
against the shepherds. I punished the goats, identifying
the imposter pastors who feed his people with lies and dreams
as goats, not sheep, against whom his furious wrath burns
forever. As Job asked Zophar, let every
sinner concerned for his soul say to every preacher of Arminian
freewill works religion, every time you hear one speak, how
then comfort ye me in vain, seeing your answers, there remaineth
falsehood. Oh, may God graciously sweep
away every refuge of lies from your soul. But there's another
word. Look back at our text again.
Blessed be his name forever. The fourth name revealed in our
text is this, the Lord of Hosts hath visited his flock. It is not possible for God's
elect to be deceived everlastingly. Our men in free will works religion
won't carry them to hell. We're told plainly the only ones
who follow the Antichrist to hell are they whose names are
not found written in the book of life from the foundation of
the world. Zechariah gives us this word. For the Lord of hosts hath visited
his flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them his goodly
horse in the battle. I remind you again. This is a
prophecy about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the
salvation of God's elect in this gospel age. Zachariah here tells
us the Lord hath visited his people. He hath visited them. He has saved and delivered his
own. by sending his dear son, who
his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that
we being dead to sins might live unto righteousness, by whose
stripes you were healed. For we were as sheep going astray,
listen now, but are now returned. There he didn't say you've now
returned to yourself. You'd never do that. You'd still be stray. But he returned to you. to the
shepherd and bishop of your souls. He did it by blood, and He does
it by omnipotent grace, sending the word of His grace in the
power of His Spirit, causing the believer, causing the chosen
sinner to believe, to trust His Son. And when He does, He makes
redeemed, saved sinners triumphant over their foes as His goodly
horse in the battle. Turn to Job chapter 39. I'll
wrap this up. In John's vision in Revelation
6, when the seals were opened, he saw a white horse, and he
that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him. And
he went forth, conquering and to conquer. You ever wonder what
that white horse is? He says here, David Burge, he
made you his goodly horse. He rides forth through this world,
conquering and to conquer, riding on the white horse of his chosen,
redeemed, called people in this world. And Job asked the question,
verse 19, Job 39, hast thou given the horse strength? No, God did. Hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder? No, God did. Canst thou make him afraid as
a grasshopper? Not when God's made him not afraid.
The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth the valley
and rejoiceth in his strength, rejoiceth in Christ his strength.
He goeth on to meet the armed men. Oh, brother Don, have you
heard who's opposing you? I don't give a flip. Oh, but
he might be powerful. Who's he? Who are they? He paweth the ground. He paweth
the ground. He mocketh fear and is not afraid
of it. Neither turneth he back from
the sword. The quiver rattleth against him,
the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground
with the fierceness and rage. Neither believeth he that it
is the sound of the trumpets, he saith among the trumpets,
and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder captains, and
the shouting." I received a letter the day before yesterday from
a friend asking me about the current trends among men who
once professed to believe the things I've been preaching to
you, trying to make the gospel palatable to lost men who hate
God, compromising the gospel of God's grace, trying to say
there's some sense in which God really wants everybody to be
saved, some sense in which Christ really died for everybody, some
sense in which grace is really for all men, making God's grace,
God's will, Christ's death all meaningless and nothing. And
he said, I'm concerned. I wrote it back. I said, I move
beyond concern. I'm mad. I'm angry. I'm angry. I hope not with carnal anger
of lust and passion of my own soul, but angry against those
who oppose my God and trample His glory under their feet and
trample the souls of men under their feet, hoping to climb some
kind of religious political ladder for themselves. I said, the problem
is not a matter of not understanding. It is a matter of willingly,
willingly, the revelation of God for personal gain. Oh, now may God graciously do
for you what you cannot and will not do for yourself. May He graciously
cause you to cry to Him for the rain in time of the latter rain. And as surely as you do, He declares,
I will open the windows of heaven. and pour upon you showers of
blessing. Showers of blessing. Oh, I'm
not going to. You know what? I said that one
time. I said that one time. One day
I walked in the church building, sat down right where you're sitting.
I had been going to church for a little while, listening to
folks teach the gospel of God's grace, and I wasn't the least
bit interested. I'd hear them press the claims
of Christ on my soul, speak of Him as sovereign Lord to whom
I must bow, and I wasn't about to bow. I liked having control
of my life, bad as it was. I liked doing my own thing. I
liked controlling my own destiny, as I thought. No! I won't have Him. I went to church
just because there was a pretty girl there I wanted to date.
The only reason I went. As far as I know, she's still
on her way to hell or already in hell. But I sat right where you're
sitting with my fist shoved in God's face. I'd have killed Him
if I could. And He poured out His grace upon
me. And before I called, He answered
me. And before I turned, He turned
me. And before I ran after Him, He drew me. And as quickly as
I called on Him, He opened the heavens, and He never shut them. Oh, I plead not with you, but
with God, that He may have mercy on you. Amen.

False Dreams and Vain Comforts

What does the Bible say about false prophets?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is coming to Christ important for Christians?

What are the dangers of legalism in Christianity?

How does God's love relate to salvation?

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False Dreams and Vain Comforts

What does the Bible say about false prophets?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is coming to Christ important for Christians?

What are the dangers of legalism in Christianity?

How does God's love relate to salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

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