Get this device turned off. Brother
Bill was bragging so much about a while ago. Lord enabling, I want to speak
to you a few minutes this morning on the subject of sovereign mercy.
Sovereign mercy. I'd like to begin by reading
a few verses. In this chapter, Romans 9, the
Apostle Paul writes, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren by kinsmen according
to the flesh. There is real life. to whom pertaineth
the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving
of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose
are the Father's, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ
came, whose over all God blessed forever. Amen. Now Paul expresses here his love
and his concern for his natural brethren, the Jews. And he lists
some of those advantages that they had enjoyed as God's chosen
people, as national Israel. Of course, the greatest of those
was that it was through and to them that our Lord Jesus Christ came
according to the flesh. That was the last one he mentioned
there in verse 5. Whose are the fathers and of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. Overall, God bless
forever. Amen. Imagine that. Of all peoples upon this earth,
our God singled out Abraham and his seed. this Jewish people
and made them a nation, preserved them down through the years for
the express purpose that through them the Messiah would come,
the Messiah would come. He was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh, and he was determined to be the Son
of God with power. And these people enjoyed those
privileges as God's people, typical people. down through the years,
the ages. Like Brother Dale was talking
about, 1,500 years this went on. 400 years before that, when
he chose Abraham and called him out. These people thought that
because they were the natural seed of Abraham, and because
they enjoyed all of these advantages, that they were the children of
God. They thought this made them children of God. But you know
what? Most of the people of that nation
perished. The people in the time of Christ,
the Jews in the time of Christ, most of them perished in unbelief,
just like their fathers before them perished in unbelief in
the wilderness. They perished because they refused
to believe God. They refused to believe on Christ. They refused to believe the gospel
of His grace. They just refused to believe
Him. They rejected Him. We will not have this man reign
over us. If you would, turn over to Hebrews
chapter 3 for a minute. Hebrews chapter 3. And this carries
right on down. You know, most of those people,
all of them, All of them over the age of 20 years, except two,
perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. All of them. And Jew and Gentile today, if
they continue in unbelief, if they reject the gospel of Christ,
if they reject Him, they'll perish in unbelief. Now Hebrews 3, look
at verse 15. While it is said today, if you
will hear his voice, pardon not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Talk about back in the wilderness. For some, when they had heard,
did provoke, all of them over the age of twenty, except two.
Howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. Some of them
believed and entered the promised land. But with whom must God
grieve forty years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest? But to them
that what? Believe not, believe not. So
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief, of unbelief. Now, you know, there were no
chapter divisions in the original. So just look at a couple of verses
here in chapter 4. Now, let us therefore, Let being
you, let us fear lest a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto
us was the gospel preached as well as unto them." The word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it. So you see where we're going
here. They didn't believe. They didn't believe Christ. They
didn't believe the gospel. They rejected Him. They sought
righteousness and acceptance with Almighty God by their works. Now they tried to keep these
thou shalts and thou shalt nots, but their main confidence was
in this ceremonial law that our brother talked to us about a
few minutes ago. All these temple ceremonies and sacrifices and
so forth is what they put their confidence in to atone for their
sins and to be accepted of God. They rejected Christ when He
came. They rejected salvation by Him. They rejected justification through
faith in Him alone. They rejected justification by
free grace through His blood. They depended on the animal sacrifices,
those works and pictures and types and so on, and they rejected
the reality of it. They thought the blood of bulls
and goats would make atonement for sin. And they rejected Him,
God's appointed Lamb, and sacrificed for sin. They wouldn't have anything
to do with it. They didn't want anything to do with this being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. They wanted to be justified by
what they did, the sacrifices they brought, the gifts they
brought, their tithes, their dues, and their doles, and all
of this. And so they rejected Him. They
rejected Him. They thought they were righteous
in themselves by their works, and therefore they didn't want
anything to do with His righteousness. They're ignorant of righteousness,
God said in the next chapter. Ignorant of God's righteousness.
They're going about to establish their own righteousness. And they rejected the righteousness
of Christ. Just completely rejected it.
They didn't want anything to do with imputed righteousness
through faith. They didn't want to be made righteous
through believing God, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. They
didn't want to be made righteous. They didn't want to have that
righteousness imparted to them in regeneration because they
thought they already had life. But the Scriptures tell us that
whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, he is born of
God. Now I know the Scriptures tell
us that righteousness is imputed to us through faith. It's imparted
to us in regeneration. And you really can't have one
before the other. They go together. But I'm telling
you this. Now listen to me. Listen to me. Dead men don't
believe. Dead men do not believe. Therefore,
life must be given before faith can be exercised. Now that's
just so. That's just so. Otherwise it'd
be of man and not of God. Not of God. Abraham believed
God and it was imputed, it was counted, it was charged, it was
reckoned unto him for righteousness. He didn't trust in sacrifice.
The law wasn't given until 430 years later. Abraham couldn't
be saved by the law. He was saved by grace through
faith in Him that was to come in that promised sea. Paul goes on back in our text
here. He knows that these people are
going to stub up at this. And he says in verse 6, he says,
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. They
are not all Israel which are of Israel. They're not all Israel
which are of Israel, because most of these people continued
in unbelief. Does that make God's Word a promise
of no effect? No, no, no, no, no. Can God's
Word fail because they refuse to believe? No. Can His purpose
be frustrated because they don't believe? No. Can the blood of
Christ be shed in vain if they don't look to it and believe
in it for righteousness and justification? No, sir, it cannot. I know very well that the so-called
gospel of our days says that it can. It says that God loves
you and Christ died for you, but you've got to do something
to make it effectual. Otherwise, you can't be saved.
But God says different. God says, whom he foreknew, he
predestinated, and whom he predestinated, he called, and whom he called,
he justified, and whom he justified, he glorified. And he didn't ask
your permission about it. He didn't ask you to do anything. It's not what we do for God,
it's what God does for us. And I tell you, beloved, if we
continue on seeking to do something, anything, even our faith, we
bring our faith to God in order to be accepted of Him as a work
we do in order to be accepted. We're going to be rejected. We're going to be rejected. Just
like God told Moses, if you're going to build an altar of stone,
don't put the tool to it. Don't hue it out and square it
up and set it up right, because if you do, you pollute it. And
God won't have anything to do with it. Nothing at all. Works are going
to be excluded. Why did most of the Jews not
believe? Well, we could ask the same question.
Why do most people not believe in our day? But in the objection, he gives
the answer, it's not as though the Word of God has taken none
effect. Why didn't they believe? I'll
tell you why they didn't believe right here. They're not all Israel,
which are of Israel. That's why they didn't believe. Israel is a name. Now, every
time we hear Israel, most of the time we think about national
Israel. But Israel is a name given. It
is a name given to the people of God. But let me tell you,
beloved, there's a natural Israel and there's a spiritual Israel.
There's a natural Israel. The seed of Abraham. The natural
seed of Abraham. But there's a spiritual Israel.
The seed of God. Turn back to Romans chapter 2.
I'll show you that. I'll show you that, Romans chapter
2, the last two verses, 28-29. Verse 28, He's not a Jew which
is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward
in the flesh, but He's a Jew which is one inwardly. And circumcision
is that of the heart in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise
is not of men but of God. There's a natural Israel, there's
a spiritual Israel. And so, not all natural Israel,
not all of them are spiritual Israel. Now he goes on and explains
that, verses 7 and 8. Look at it. Neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children. Just because a
person is born of Abraham, he's a child of Abraham, doesn't mean
he's a child of God. But in Isaac shall thy seed be
called." That was God's word of promise to Abraham. Not Ishmael. Ishmael's not going to be there.
Abraham, you listen to what Sarah said to you. She's right this
time. Cast out the bondwoman and her son. The son of the bondwoman
shall not be there with my son, even Isaac. In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the sin. We, we, Paul said, when he wrote
to the Philippians, he said, we are the circumcision. We are
the true Israel of God. We are the true Jews, which do
three things. Do you remember what they were?
We worship God in spirit. We rejoice in Christ Jesus and
we have no confidence in this flesh whatsoever. Whatsoever. And all listen, a person's not
a child of God by natural descent. A person's not a child of God
by the works of the flesh. And that's what Paul is illustrating
here in the case of Ishmael and Isaac. If you would, turn over to Galatians
chapter 4. Galatians 4. Verse 22. Galatians 4.22. It's written. It's written. It's in the Word
of God. That Abraham had two sons. Now he later had, he had
a lot more sons, but he had two sons. The one by a bond name,
Hagar. Hagar the Egyptian. The other
by a free woman, Sarah, the free wife. But now watch it. He who was of the bond woman
was born after the fledge. Normal course of nature. He was
born after the fledge. Nothing miraculous about his
birth whatsoever. And that which is born of the
flesh is what? It's flesh. But he that was born
of the free one, he was born by promise. That which is born
of the Spirit is what? Spirit. He's a spiritual man. Now both these boys were sons
of Abraham. But we see very clearly here
that Ishmael was born after the flesh and Isaac was born after
the spirit according to God's word of promise. And beloved,
that teaches us that a person is a child of God according to
the covenant of grace and promise in our Lord Jesus Christ. And
these people, because God chose them in Christ from before the
foundation of the world and purposed and predestinated them to the
adoption of sons, they're going to be born of the Spirit of God
and they're going to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now
how's that going to take place? God in His providence, sovereign
over ruling of all things, the way our brother prayed a little
bit ago, I'm so glad God's in control, aren't you? I'm so glad
I heard the gospel, but I'm telling you I didn't hear it by accident,
and you didn't either. God from all eternity purposed,
purposed it, and brought it to pass in His providential rule
at the exact right time. He crossed our path with the
gospel of His beloved Son, and in the might of His grace, gave
us ears to hear, and eyes to see, and hearts to believe and
receive on the Lord Jesus Christ. We were born of the Spirit of
God through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. You still
have Galatians? You still have Galatians? Look
at chapter 3. Look at chapter 3, verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith, Not into seeds as of
many, but as of one, into thy seed which is Christ. God chose
us in Christ. He predestinated us to be like
Christ. He redeemed us by Christ. He
called us to Christ. He preserved us in Christ. It's
in the promises that are in Christ. Look at verse 18. If the inheritance
be of the lost, no more promise, but God gave it to Abraham by
promise. By promise. Look at verse 26 of Galatians
3. You are all the children of God
because you are the natural seed of Abraham. No. Because you made
a profession. No. Because you kept the works
of the law? No. Because you did this, that, the
other, or anything? No, sir. You're all the children
of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. for as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There's neither
Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's neither
male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
belong to Him, then you're Abraham's seed, and you're an heir according
to the promise of God that He made Abraham all the way back
there in Christ. And you can go even farther,
even farther back than that, to eternity past when that covenant
was made. When the members of the triune
God struck hands and agreed to perform each one of His part
in this eternal covenant. Galatians chapter 4 verse 28. Galatians 4 verse 28. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise. Are the children of promise.
How can that be? Because we were born the same
way He was. By the Spirit and power of God. Through Christ.
But as then He that was born after the flesh persecuted him
that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless,
what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her
son. The son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son
of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free. But of the free. Back to Romans
chapter 4. Romans chapter 4, look at verse
13. The promise. The promise to Abraham
that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham
or to his seed through the law. Now understand, this law played
no part in that. It was not through the law. But
it was through the righteousness of faith. Of faith. For if they which are of the
law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none
effect. Because the law worketh wrath, for where no law is, there
is no transgression. It is our faith that it might
be by grace. To the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the
law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who
is the father of us all." Sovereign mercy, sovereign grace,
through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Go back to our text in
Romans chapter 9. Look at verse 9. Verse 9, this is the word of
promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. That's
what God told Abraham. God told Abraham. Abraham thought
that his servant was going to be an heir. God said, no, no,
no, no, no. You're going to have an heir
and you're going to have an heir by Sarah about this time next year. And here's this old man, 99 years
old, with a 90-year-old wife. It ceased to be with her after
the wave went. And God said, you're going to
have a son by her about this time next year. And you know
what that old man did? Tells us here. Tells us here
in Romans chapter 4. It tells us verse 18, against
hope he believed in hope, that he might become the father of
many nations according to that which was spoken, so shall thy
seed be. And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a
hundred years old. And he didn't consider the deadness
of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God, and he was fully persuaded. And here's where it is. is fully
persuaded that what God had promised, God was able also to perform. That just sums up my faith. Isn't
it yours? I'm a sinner, born a sinner,
got a sin in nature. Got sin imputed to me through
my federal hand and passed on to me through natural generation,
just like you. And by nature, I'm at enmity
with God. And I don't have the ability
to do anything good. And I can't keep the law. It
just makes me mad at God. And how in the world am I, a
sinner, ever going to come into the presence of Almighty God?
He said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. And you know what? I believe
Him, man, don't you? I believe that He is able, He's
able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.
I believe that He's able to take this old, dead, stale, dying,
rotten, condemned body and soul and spirit and give me life just
like He did Lazarus. I think one of the only times
it's said in Scripture that our Lord spoke with a loud voice
was when He, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth. And that's exactly, he didn't
say it with a loud voice, but I heard it. What he said to me
when he gave me life. What he said to you when he gave
you life. Come forth. And you that were dead, you came
forth. You came forth. Now boy, no question
about it. No question about it. Who did
that? God did that. God did that. Why was Isaac a
child of promise? Ishmael, a child of the flesh. Who made the difference? God
made the difference. God made the difference. And
he goes on, verse 10, he says, not only this, not only the case
of Ishmael and Isaac, but when Rebekah, Rebekah, Jacob's wife,
also had conceived by one, even Isaac's wife, by her father Isaac,
for the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election,
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said
unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Now Paul, these
Jews in this Roman church to whom Paul was writing, they might
say this, well, I understand what you are saying Paul, But
you know, Ishmael and Isaac were born to different mothers, and
besides that, we all descended from Isaac. We have Abraham as our father. That's what they told him. Well,
just in case that's what they think, Paul brings forth another
example here, and he shows that the true children of God are
not only born of promise, but they're born according to God's
sovereign purpose of election. that the purpose of God according
to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth.
Now Jacob and Esau were twins, born of the same mother, conceived
by the same father, even our father Isaac, he said. And before
they were ever born, God told the mother, the elder served the younger.
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." God made a choice
between them. Now listen to me. The reason
was not found in the children. The reason for God's choice was
not found in the children. Neither one of them having done
any good or evil. It was according to God's sovereign
will and purpose. You know, actually, if you go
back and look at it, Esau would have had the advantage over Jacob,
because he was the firstborn. And by natural right, the birthright
was his, according to nature. And yet, God loved Jacob and
hated Esau. And just in case you're wondering,
that doesn't mean He loved what Esau left. He hated Esau. People get hung up on this, don't
they? They get hung up on it. It's
how in the world, how in the world could God hate Esau? Well, beloved, I'm telling you
the difficulty If you want to call it that, it's not that God
hated Esau. Because Esau deserved to be hated. Just like you and
me. If God gives us what we deserve,
He'll hate us. If He pays us what we'll earn,
death, death will be our due. The astounding thing is that
God loved Jacob. It's that God loved Jacob. How
could he do that? How could God love someone like
Jacob? Well, the only thing I can tell
you is this. First of all, he purposed to do so. He purposed
to do so. It was according to his own will. He sovereignly chose to set his
affection upon Jacob. Well, how could he do that in
righteousness and holiness? Because he loved Him in Christ. He loved Him in Christ. He loved Him because of Christ. I know people always going around
saying, smile, God loves you. God loves you, and God wants
to do this for you, and God wants to do that for you, and if something
or other, if you just let Him. I'm telling you, if God wants
to, God will. He will. And God loves His people
in Christ. He loves Jacob in Christ. He told us that in the last verse
of chapter 8 there. What can separate us from the
love of God? Nothing. Nothing. Not any creature,
anything in creation shall be able to separate us from the
love of God. Where is it? Which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. It's where God loves his people,
is in Christ. And that's how he loved Jacob. And if he loves us, that's how
he loves us, in Christ. And in Christ alone. Back in the text he goes on,
he says, What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid! God forbid! Is God unrighteous? Is God unfair because He loved
Jacob and hated Esau? Oh, no! Don't even think such
a thought. Don't even think such a thought. Somebody said, well, Esau didn't
have a chance. Salvation stopped by chance. Well, it ain't fair. Wait a minute
now. Wait a minute. Let me tell you
something. Esau didn't lose his birthright. Esau did not lose his birthright. He sold it. He sold it. He sold it for a
mess of cabbage. Hebrews 12, let me read you a
verse from Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 verse 15, the apostle
exhorts, looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace
of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up trouble you, and thereby
many be defiled, lest there be any fornicator or profane person
as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Later on, when he didn't get
the blessing from his daddy, the natural blessing, he wasn't
worried about the spiritual blessing, he wanted the natural blessing.
He couldn't find any way to get
it back. No way to get it back. The gospel of our Lord, the gospel
of salvation by His grace, The gospel of effectual atonement
by His blood. The gospel of righteousness by
His obedience imputed and imparted to us. That's the gospel we preach. That's the gospel we preach every
chance we get, every time we meet. We set forth our Lord's
sovereignty. We set forth His Lordship. We
set forth His grace. We encourage people to look to
Him, to believe on Him. Don't do anything but believe. Look. Look. Our Lord said, all things are
delivered unto Me. He didn't leave anything out. All things are delivered unto
Me. No man knoweth the Son save the Father, neither knoweth any
man the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal
him." You want to know God, you've got to come through the Son.
And then he said, Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come to the water. Come without money, without price. And even though it's clearly
declared, men still refuse to hear, men still refuse to bow,
they still refuse to come to Him for mercy and for life. Oh, they search the Scriptures,
quote the Scriptures, for in them they think they have eternal
life. Our Lord said, but they are they which testify of Me,
and you will not come to Me that you may have life. And yet, down through the ages,
there has always been and will continue to be, as long as the
door of grace is open, those who come. Our Lord came down from the mountain
and there was a leper. There was a leper. Jesus, thou Son of David, have
mercy upon me. Lord, if you will, If you will,
you can make me clean. You know what our Lord said to
him? I will be thou clean. There was a woman with an issue
of blood who came to him, came through the prayer. She wasn't
supposed to be out there, folks. That was against the law of Moses. She was unclean. And yet she
came through the people. weaving her way through, until
she got to the place where she could reach out and touch the
hem of his garment, and immediately, immediately she was made whole. There was a woman whose daughter
was grievously vexed. And she came to our Lord, and
he said a thank to her. And she went to the disciples,
and they said, Lord, Lord, send her away. She's aggravating us. She said, Lord, help me. He said,
it ain't right. It ain't right to take children's
bread and give it to dogs. Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat of the
crumbs of the master's table. O woman, great is thy faithfulness. Be it unto thee, even as thou
wouldst. Most won't come, but many do. Everyone who had need of healing
came. You got need of healing? Is God unfair because He does
not give people what they don't want? Come on now! Come on now! Is the gospel preached to every
creature? Is the gospel the same? Does our Lord say, I'll save
them freely? That's the problem. People don't
want to be saved freely. And so they won't come. Well,
why in the world should the Lord give them what they don't want? Is God unrighteous because He
sovereignly chooses to have mercy on sons of Jacob? whom He's chosen
and purposed to have mercy on? Is He unrighteous because He purposed
to display the glory of His grace upon His people through Christ
Jesus our Lord? No, sir. No, sir. And I tell you, that's exactly
what He said to Moses way back there in the wilderness. Verse 15, He says, He says to
Moses, I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have
compassion on whom I will have compassion. That's what you call sovereign
mercy. Sovereign mercy. That's exactly
what he said to Moses way back there when Moses said, Lord,
show me your glory. That's what he told him. Verse 16, now here's the conclusion.
So then it's not of him that willeth. Well, I believe man
has a free will. Well, you go on believing that,
but it's not of him that willeth. Well, I believe man's got to
do something. It's not of him that runneth. I believe a person's got to come
down front, second preacher's hand, make a profession, kneel
at the altar, pray for it, just go on and on. It's not of him
that runs. It's of God that showeth mercy. It's of God that showeth mercy. As many as received him, The
Lord Jesus Christ, to them, gave you the power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood. It's not by fleshly
inheritance. Not of the will of the flesh.
It's not by man's will. It's not of the will of man.
Can't all get together and will somebody to be saved. They're
born of God. Scripture says to Pharaoh, even
for this same purpose have I raised you up, that I might show my
power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout
all the earth." God's sovereign over all. He
raised up Pharaoh, caused him to be the most powerful monarch
on the earth at that time, and then dumped him in the river,
in the Red Sea. Drown him in the Red Sea to show
his power and his glory in delivering his people. And you know what? So I'm not sure I like that.
Well, better get to like it. You know,
Pharaoh had more advantages than many who perish. God sent his servants, Moses
and Aaron, up there to him. And he sent them up there with
his word, Thus saith the Lord. And over and over again they
went to, Thus saith the Lord. Let my people go that they may
hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." And you know what Pharaoh said? Well, who is the Lord that I
should obey him? I know not the Lord, and I will
not let the people go. Oh, yeah, you will. You will
one day. He will. Pharaoh got all of those signs
and miracles and wonders performed by Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh saw
them all. Pharaoh was under all of them
and he came down there and he said, I can't stand it anymore.
Pray to God, ask him to take this. And he did. And he still,
still rebelled. Still rebelled. And in the end, God overthrew
him in the Red Sea. Boy, I tell you what, folks in
that area heard about it too. Forty years later, when Joshua
sent those spies over there to Jericho, remember Rahab the harlot? She said, we heard what God did
with you all when He brought you out of Egypt. We heard what
He did at the Red Sea. We heard what He did to those
two kings that stood against you. And when we heard, we just
melted. Your God's the God. He's the
God of heaven. He's the God of the earth. Therefore, therefore, therefore,
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will
he hardeneth. When God has mercy, when He has mercy, the gospel
of Christ comes in. It comes in in word, and it comes
in in power, and it comes in the Holy Spirit. And people hear,
there's a work of grace done. And when it comes, the will is
subdued. His people are made willing in
the day of His power. And when He comes, He doesn't
ask you if you want life. He gives life. He bestows life. You have He quickened. We were
dead in trespasses and sin. And we believe, but He gives
us faith. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. That's
what happens when God has mercy. He sent the Gospel here. He called
you here to hear it this morning. You believed on Him yet? Be careful
now. Be careful. This is the way God
has mercy. But you know what? Somebody says,
well, how in the world, how does God harden? How does God harden
a person? Scripture says He hardened Pharaoh's heart. You know how
God hardens a person? Leaves him alone. Let him have
his own will. Just leave you to yourselves. Pharaoh hardened his heart and
refused to believe God, and God left him alone, hardened his
heart. The gospel of grace is preached to people, and they
reject it, and God withholds His grace. He gives them what
they want. God is in sovereign mercy and justice. He's sovereign,
I'm telling you, beloved. He's sovereign in all things.
He's sovereign in the dispensation of mercy and He's sovereign when
it comes to justice. And He doesn't compromise one
against the other. And He's holy and He's just and
He's righteous and He's going to punish sin. He will by no
means clear the guilty. And in the same manner, He's
holy and He's just and He's righteous to have mercy on whom He will.
Because in Christ Jesus, in the Lord Jesus Christ, He is both
a just God who punishes sin, and a Savior who saves His people. And the sinner doesn't merit,
the sinner doesn't earn mercy, it's sovereignly bestowed on
whom he weeps. Our Lord talked about where He
preached the Gospel and the many mighty works that had been done
there. And how they'd all rejected it, and what judgment was waiting
on them. And then he lifted his eyes to heaven, and he said,
I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Has it been revealed to you?
Has it been revealed to me? It's because it seemed good in
His sight. Now, let me give you a word of
encouragement here, alright? This is all encouraging, right,
to you. But I'll tell you this, I'll tell you that I have found
no example in Scripture of anyone who truly sought mercy who was
turned away. You ever found one, Dad? You,
Bob? You, Dale, these men who study the scriptures, teach and
preach the scriptures, I've never seen one. Everyone who ever truly
sought mercy obtained it of the Lord. So that's not going to
be an excuse. Judgment comes and you're condemned
to eternity in hell. Well, I'm shut out from mercy. You won't be able to use that
excuse. You refuse mercy. You never sought mercy. You never
asked for mercy. That'll be what it is. Lord,
if you will, you can make me clean. I will be now clean. Lord, that I might receive my
sight. Receive thy sight. Just receive it. Verse 19, Thou wilt say unto
me, Why doth he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will?
If God is sovereign, and none can resist his will, how in the
world can he find fault with sinners? Well, the answer is
verse 20, Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against
God? Who do you think you are to argue with God? Shall the
thing form say to him that formed it? Why hast thou made me thus?
Go out and get a piece of wood, whittle out an object, and then
have that object stand up and say, Why in the world do you
whittle me that way? Be foolish, would you? Verse 21, Hath not the potter
power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto
honor and another unto dishonor? God has the power, God has the
right, God has the authority to do what He will with His own. We need to understand that. We're
in His hand, whether we want to be or not. And all mankind,
all mankind are taken from the same love, the fallen humanity.
We're all descended from Adam. We're all of one blood. And every
single one of us is going to do one thing one way or the other.
We're going to glorify God. We're going to glorify God. And
he says, verse 22, if God willing to show His wrath and to make
His power known, endured with much longsuffering, the vessels
of wrath fitted to destruction. He's talking about God in His
justice and wrath against sin. He's going to be glorified when
He displays His wrath on the vessels of wrath. Those ones
who refuse the light that God gives and those people who fit
themselves for destruction. But bless God, verse 23, that
He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of
mercy which He had aforeprepared unto glory. He's going to show
the glory of His grace and mercy in Christ on these vessels of
mercy whom He's chosen, whom He's blessed in Christ from all
eternity. Who are these vessels of mercy?
Who are they? Verse 24, Even us, whom he hath
called, not of the Jews only, but also
of the Gentiles. Those he calls by his gospel,
by his Spirit, calls to Christ, calls to life, calls to faith,
calls to justification, calls to glory. Vessels of mercy. Sovereign mercy, free grace. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, according as He hath chosen us
in Christ from before the foundation of the world. The chief end of man is to glorify
God, and we'll either glorify Him in His purpose of mercy or
in His purpose of justice, one way or the other. one way or
the other. But I'm thankful he sent the
gospel to this way and reveals Christ to us. Aren't you? I pray
he'll continue to do so, for Christ's sake, for his Lord.
All right, Brother Chris, you come on.