Jeremiah 2, I believe we can
pick up a subject matter there this morning that I have been
dealing with for some time, a couple of messages, and let's do it
again as the Lord leads. Jeremiah 2, I believe it is,
and one verse that will give us just a little light on the
subject there. It is the 13th verse of that
chapter that I want to read in your hearing. to move on in our
subject matter. The subject matter, you needn't
turn to it, was first found in the book of Jeremiah in the 18th
chapter and the 4th verse. And I'll give you the essence
of it, for some of you have heard two messages from that subject
matter. It's the occasion where Jeremiah is taken down to the
potter's house, and there he sees the potter make a vessel,
and he further sees the vessel broken in the potter's
hand, marred in the potter's hand, and then the potter making
that vessel over again, as seemeth good to him. And the subject
matter was marred in the potter's hand. or making the vessel over
again. Certainly I measured on, as it
seemeth good to him, and other words that we'll find again this
morning. One thing in particular that
I led you through on, and that was, there was a potter who made
the vessel, not the vessel who made the potter. We have things
turned around today as never before. And we have what we call
deified man and a God who is a puppet. But the Bible knows
nothing about that, and the child of God who has experienced the
grace of God knows nothing about that. It is clear through the
Word of God that the potter holds a destiny in his hand of every
human being, and he shapes that destiny as seemeth good to him.
That's what the Bible teaches as we find it again this morning. It's not worth making, to make
it a quick sermon. Turn, then, if you have it, to
the 2nd chapter of Jeremiah, and let's look and see the acquisition
against mankind that God brings against Israel, as well as the
application being to us also. Now, here is the acquisition. For my people have committed
two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain
of living waters. Contrary to that, they have hewed
them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Most
of you, I guess, know what a cistern is. My native state is just a hole
in the ground and blocked out and bricked up and plastered
up so it all watered and you got the water off the houses.
That was much of the water that you used there to get soft water.
So what they've done, they have huge amounts of cisterns, just
broken cisterns that could hold no water. That's what man makes.
Now when God makes a thing, it's made for eternity. We know that.
And I'm using the word in a good sense as making that vessel over
again. So I use several scriptures,
and I want to just review them with you for just a moment in
respect to subject matter for those who would maybe get one
tape and not get the other tape. And that is that I liken this
occasion to the fall of Adam, that the first man, a representative
character, was made right in the hands of the potter and broken
right in the hands of the potter, and God made that vessel over
again, not in the image of the first man, but made the vessel
over again in the image of the second Adam, which is the first
Adam after all. So he made that vessel in the
image of one who we have as an image today. This is our image.
We are created in the image. The new man is created in the
image of him who created him. And we saw that from that standpoint.
So there is no hope for the old vessel. It is a fact that God
does one or two things. May I say this in just prefacing
the subject again? One or two things he does, he
either renews renewed in the image of him who created him,
he either renews or he reserves. God either renews his grip on
mankind and makes him in the image of himself to the extent
that we can speak of the new birth along with life, or he
reserves that man to the day of judgment. God delivers, as
another word could be used. or he reserved. The Scriptures
say there in 1 Peter, speaking of life, God knows how to deliver
the just, or the godly, as he made a man godly, out of temptation,
and to deliver the ungodly until a day of judgment, reserved until
a day of judgment, as Jude would say. So we see one or two things. Either God makes that vessel
over again. In Adam, everything went down.
And God makes that vessel over again, and this is what we see
as being made again, being born again through the Word of God.
It will hold true to the statement by using just that word, again.
Again, he does that. So much for that, just making
mention of some of the things that have already brought to
your attention. I think this needs to be emphasized, even
among us, that God does some things and man finds out that
he is and does and is in business, or he doesn't find out until
life is over with until he finds out that God is in business anyhow.
So it's sure nice to find out in this life, and there is no
possible way for us to find Unless God makes known his ways and
his actions, we'll never know them in respect to what we're
talking about being made anew and being born again. We certainly
know that if we've been born again. If you're here and don't
know that, it's because the man hasn't been born again. So he
does two things. According to 1 Samuel 2, verse
6, turn back there if you will just a moment, we'll pick up
a few more scriptures. He does two protective things,
and he makes something. I'm going to use the word, make,
again this morning as we study together. I think that will lead
us through again, for God is in the business of making something
out of nothing. That's so, and he's doing that
with his people. So in the first book of Samuel,
the 2nd chapter and the 6th verse, I read, and maketh alive. He bringeth
down to the grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and
maketh rich." We need to learn that. We hear so much about man
being created equal, man not created equal. That's the problem
right now. We're trying to have what we call equal rights, and
there's nothing right about it and nothing equal about it. There
never will be. You can't make people equal. God didn't do it.
And if he doesn't do it, why we can't do it? He bringeth low,
and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to
set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne
of his glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and he hath set the world upon them." Now, there are 2 or 3
words there I want you to pick up as we study together. The
Lord killeth and maketh alive. Now, God makes alive. And before
he made Salah, this wasn't no accident in the hands of God
when the potter saw the vessel was broken. By the way, that
was all in the plan of God. Nothing happened contrary to
the purpose of God. He has a purpose, and everything
works together for good to that purpose, of course. And those
who come to know God in his loving them, they know that too. All
things work together for good to them that love the Lord, to
them who are called according to his purpose. He killeth and
maketh alive. It happens to be that that's
just God's method of doing business. You're never made alive until
you're dead, sure you're dead. God kills and then makes alive. We hear so much today of the
folk who apparently seem to think, and others who are doing the
preaching seem to think, that man is not dead. What is it? He's just partially disabled
or something of the kind. He's able to at least prescribe
his own medicine, his menu. But he hates the doctor, and
he hates the medicine, and he hates everything that looks like
what he needs. Only God can make him take his medicine. So in
that sense, he makes him alive and says, you're going to listen
to me. And of course, even the child of God has an old nature
in him. They're going to have that rebellion until his spirit
and the flesh separate, finally go. They want to have their way
about things. But it is God who makes the difference
every time. So he says, he maketh, he bringeth
them. and he maketh people low, and
he maketh people rich, so on and so forth there in the Word
of God. Now, it is God who does this thing. What he is doing, this language
of made and making and maketh, they should stand together for
it is a fact that God has made us alive. But while having made
us alive, he is making us alive. We're not done yet. I believe
it was Ephraim who said, he's a cake not turned. That means
you're just done on one side, and you need to be flipped over
and cooked some more. So God's in the business of making
us, not just made us, then making us and stopping. He's in business,
brother. He's on the other end of the
The line is the word of David, doing what? Making intercession
for us. For all that shall come unto
God by Christ. Unless he continues to make intercession,
there will never be any intercession made. And if he stops right now
making intercession for every human being in this building
that's already been made alive, we'll die and go to hell. His
work is not finished. It will never be finished. Eternity
shall renounce the fact that God is doing business for his
people. And he does that, he just makes. And I like that.
This generation don't like that. But the reason a person doesn't
like that is he's not saved. So a man loves that. He said,
well, I tried to make something out of myself. I tried that for
a number of years. I sure made a mess, brother, and you did
too. If you tried it, if you're saved, you tried to make something
out of yourself. Other people tried to make something out of
you, but every bit of it failed and went down the drain. You're
brought to a place where it was up to God to make something that
we could not make, and he's just doing that. I'm happy about that.
If it wasn't for grace through faith, I couldn't tell you what
that product would be like. But brother, it's going to be
all right. He's going to have that product all cleaned up and
slicked up, all the knots and the blemishes are gone, going
to be presentable to his Father. Now, don't say let him do it,
he is doing that. So that kind of makes a man rejoice,
especially when you try it in faith. That's when you learn
that it's worthwhile. Well, let's see, Apostle Paul
has something to say about God doing some things. I like this
word, choice. So turn over to the book of Acts
for just a moment, 15th chapter. I believe it's Peter there in
the 15th chapter of Acts. Let Peter see if he can do a
little of what's the word, amplifying for me, scotching for me this
morning. I need it. The 15th chapter of the book
of Acts. And the 7th verse of that chapter, Peter preaching
there, and I don't think he got his tongue tangled. I think he
said what God would have him to say, and it's very interesting
to know what took place. I do not know that I'll finish
this subject matter. I've learned in recent days and
months and years, as much as I was saying, that congregation
didn't get it, and rightly so, because I've studied the subject.
And believe it or not, to my own satisfaction, I understand
what I'm saying. Sometimes I don't make it clear,
but I believe this morning that God makes choice. That's what
he's going to tell us right here, that God makes choice. And unless
God makes choice, the choice that we make is the choice that
Adam has already made in every one of his Progeny has made,
and we're lost for good, not going to be lost. Now, if you
don't make a decision, you may not make heaven your home. Decision
is what sent you the other way. Every man decided in Adam to
rebel against God and have his way, and you tend to your business
and I'll tend to mine. And God intervened in the affairs
of man. They say he won't do it, but
he has done it. And he is doing it, and thank
God he shall continue to do it until he gets every one of those
sheep off of that sinking ship and they get to life. And so
doing he makes choice. He makes a choice. A lot of people
don't like that. They say, well, I think I have a free will. You
do have pretty much a free will. I don't believe man has free
will. I don't think anybody is free but God. I don't think Adam
was free. He could not be free and God
be free. There can't be but one free moral agent and that's God
doing business for himself and somebody else too. And he left
Adam, he just moved a restraining force from Adam long enough to
show you what some freedom will do, and Adam leaned over backwards
to buck God. There was no reason, there can't
be no reason given for what Adam did, except I wanted to do it. And God gave him room to let
his wanderer work, and you see what happened? We all went down.
So God makes choice. I'm satisfied with his choice
this morning. I'll tell you why, it may sound a little selfish,
but so anyhow, he chose me. Well, I don't know whether I
should feel that way about it or not. Well, I do, because the
fact that he made me feel that way about it, I can't help it,
I'm not too much interested in trying to help it, I'm kind of
happy about it. He made a choice. Does he do that for everybody?
No, he doesn't. That's why I'm more happy about it, brother.
Believe it or not, brother, he doesn't do that for everybody.
He makes a choice. That's what Peter said. And we
are Gentiles. After all is said and done, God
did deal with what we call a particular and peculiar people called a
Jewish nation for a long period of time, and in so doing he passed
by all the Gentile nations at that time. which I think was
a parenthesis, for he dealt with the Gentiles the way he ever
dealt with the Jews. You must go back to Adam to start, and
not with Abraham. So this particular passage here
in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts, and verse 7 of that
chapter, the man says something worthwhile. Verse 6 says, And
the apostles and the elders were gathered together for to consider
this matter," and most of you know what that matter was. That
was that the Gentiles would be brought under the same yoke as
the Jewish economy, and they had men there who said, No, that's
not so, this is not for we Gentiles. So they were having a confrontation
there rather than a conference, and the apostles and the elders
came together for to consider this matter. And when Peter stood
up. And when there had been much
disputing, now, don't worry about these disputes either. You come
together many times and you say, well, everybody didn't agree
together. Well, now, don't worry about
that. God makes men to differ. He said, who makes men to differ,
doesn't he? I just take the text completely out of its context
and tell you, God makes men to differ. He does make men to differ.
But you hear so much about, well, we can't walk together unless
we agree. I can't agree with you and everything. You can't
agree with me and everything. Well, that passage there in Amos,
I guess it is. How can two walk together except
they be agreed? Well, that is so. I'll grant
that. The first thing that a husband and wife have got to agree on
to make them married A goal of it is that we've got to agree
to disagree at times. That's the first thing you agree
on. Well, you see, this thing just saying, well, we're going
to agree on everything, that's just a bunch of hypocrisy and Phariseeism. Just look a person right in the
face and say, well, I really don't see that right now. I can't agree
with you. And you know my familiar saying, I don't mind people.
A few people agree with me. My goodness, I haven't been used
to anything but people who say, well, I don't believe that. I'd
have despaired a long time ago. Well, I'll wait for them. Lord,
give me a lot of patience. And so many of them returned
and said, I'm sorry, I was wrong. And I forgave them. That's just
wonderful, isn't it? So much humor, but so it is. The Lord does the making of the
choice. Listen to that one. He said,
Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how
that a good while ago God made choice. You know where that was,
don't you? That was at Cornelius' house. God made choice among us that
the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel and
believe. Now, if God had not made choice
that the Gentiles would hear the word of God by Peter's mouth
and believe, not a one of the Gentiles would ever believe.
So we owe this passage. Praise and adoration and God
saying, I made that choice. I did that choosing. Well, that's
wonderful then. Well, while we're in the book of Acts, let's see.
I think that some of these things need to be brought down to their
practical aspect and see that God's in business right now.
You know the reason I stand here this morning? It's God made that
choice. You believe that or not? The reason that you're here,
God chose to send you or bring you in this direction at this
particular time. God makes these choices. We just
say, well, I woke up and I chose to do so. And so, no, you didn't
either. God chose to show you and to teach you that this is
the route to take any way you go. You say, well, I've gone
some routes and I'm glad it was God's choice instead of mine.
You've possibly gone some routes that you had to acknowledge before
it was over with. Well, I did choose this one. God allows,
you understand, that word be used in such a way. So choose
it yourself and go ahead. and see which way you go, but
that's not the case of the child of God. He knows God makes a
choice. And the child of God, who has been put in some particular
place of leadership, knows that unless God made choice, if there
ever was an hour when he needs to know that, he needs to know
it now, and unless God made choice, well, he's sure confused. For
no two people hardly today agree that a person should be where
they are, or whether they should even be where they are. So we're
kind of confused, unless God makes a choice. Well, he does
that. Now, watch this verse of scripture in the 20th chapter
of the book of Acts, in the 28th verse of that chapter. I think
Paul is leaving Ephesus here, his farewell address to Ephesus,
and this is what he says, "...take heed, therefore, unto yourselves
first, and to all the flock, over the which You have assumed
the position of being an overseer. Oh, no, brother. Wait just a
moment now. "...take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
has made you overseers." That's good. That's good. People say,
where's your church today, and where's your people, and so on
and so forth. That's a good word to use right there. Well, the
Holy Ghost has made me overseer over a flock. A Holy Ghost has
made me overseer. Is that right? Yes, that's what
it says. We sure need, as I've said over and over, a biblical
vocabulary. And we've read the newspapers
so long, looked at television, listened to people talk today,
the means of communication we have, but we just sound a whole
lot like the folk. The Word of God is something
that is self-interpreting when you speak to a person and say,
well, I've been made overseer over a flock. Well, that's strange.
That's strange language today. You don't hear that, do you?
People don't talk like that. They say, well, I went to a certain
place, and right now I'm not too well satisfied, and I'm going
to another place, and if the pulpit is open, if so-and-so
recommends me, I hope to make it fully on that job. That's
politics, worse than politics. Brother, has God got a people
somewhere that he's interested in making you an overseer over? You're on your way. You're on
your way. The one time God ever operates
in your behalf, you don't need somebody else to run interference
for you. He'll do the job. All you need
to do is get out of the way. You need to get out of the way,
brother. When he's running interference, he'll run over you too and teach
you something. Isn't that wonderful that God's in business? I love
that. I take time to tell you I love
that. I rest in that breath. I believe it so. Take heed, therefore,
unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to do what? To fleece the sheep, the
first thing, I guess. What's wrong with fleece and
sheep? They will all be taken off of them, wait just a moment.
He says to feed the church, that's to feed the sheep. To feed the
church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood, there he
is. He made choice, brother. God
made choice. The Holy Ghost made choice, and
He purchased them. They're His by a purchase price,
and they're not His by somebody else making them theirs. I like to meet with the people
of God, but this one thing I do know, brother, God made choice,
and He's bringing those people together as it seemeth good to
Him, and choosing those things that seem good to His people
as well. I wonder why He did that. It's kind of peculiar,
you know, preaching like this, it looks like God is doing everything. You want to talk back to him,
it looks like he's doing everything to suit himself. Well, I kind
of half-way believe he is. Turn to the book of Proverbs,
chapter 16 of that book, and let's see if it's so. You say, well, I'm not in this
at all. Oh, yes you are, if God chose
you, you are. And if you're not, you're outside,
and the sinner has got to learn that before he'll ever come inside,
before he'll ever be brought inside. And I believe that every
human being may not be as vivid as some of his others, but you're
brought to a place somewhere where you say, Well, God did
not choose me, I'm stuck! I can't choose myself. It is
there that you enter, brother. That's the door that you come
in at. Let's see if this says so in the book of Proverbs, chapter
16. Now, what I'm trying to answer
is, why did God do this? So many times you study the Word
of God, the Spirit of God, or the prophet whom the Spirit of
God is speaking through, a Jehovah God or whoever is doing the speaking,
will tell you a little more than you necessarily felt that you
were looking for. You'll get the answer and maybe
something else to chew on. Verse 4, "...the Lord hath made
all things for himself." Well, by the way, there's the answer.
Well, that's enough said. Let's read just a little farther,
though, and see if he doesn't stir the gift that's in you.
And if it happens to be that there's nothing but clinkers
and coke and stuff like that in a person, stir that, too.
The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked
for a day of evil. Now, who did that? Huh? The Lord
made those people. We say we're in a terrible age
right now, and we are. It's sort of a scary time in
one sense of the word, but it's a time when the child of God
doesn't need to take counsel with his fears, but take counsel
with the One who made the situation to operate like it is. And you
try to settle something, you say, well, I think it's this
person's fault, the coal miner's situation. We talked together
about that. We said, well, it's this person's fault, it's that
person's fault, it's this person's fault, and so on and so forth.
And they're so confused, they don't know whose fault it is,
and we don't either. It is God behind the thing. He sees fit
to deliver the whole shooting match into the federal government's
hand while I say, well, the Antichrist, no doubt, is closing in a little
closer. I'm not saying this to be smart, but brother, I'm telling
you, if that's what it takes in anything, it is God doing
the business that we can't do. We've got no business messing
with it anyhow. My business is just to preach
and tell, this is God doing this, and get out of the way when you
do get it. In the 7th verse of the same book, I believe it is
there, we have something else that will be happening, too. When a man's ways please the
Lord, he make it, even his enemies, to be at peace with him. Now,
let's get the two verses together for just a moment. This writer of the Proverbs has
something to say here, I can't say it unless I read it. All
the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth
the spirit. Commit thy works unto the Lord,
and thy thoughts shall be established. The Lord hath made all things
for himself, yea, even the wicked, for the day of evil. And he so
fixeth up that wicked and evil person, that if a man's ways
please the Lord, he maketh his enemies to be at peace with him.
Now quit praying, Lord God! Please make that enemy of mine
to be at peace with me." That's not the answer. Make my ways
to please you, and the enemy will be at peace with me. Don't
get that turned around now. Didn't say you'd be at peace
with the enemy. See, we've got this thing turned around. Say,
I've got to make peace with my enemies. Oh, no. Brother, he'd go bring
the enemies to your shrine and see that they make peace. They're
the one calling for it. They're the one asking for it.
They're the one going to put up the white flag. We don't plan
to lose the battle. You say, well, that's sarcastic
and hard. That's what God said, and that's what he's going to
do. I'm banking on it, brother. He'll make the enemies of those
whose ways please him. to be at peace with him, said,
nothing I can do but be at peace. I don't want to be their enemy.
Now, you just watch as God moves on you to any extent, and somebody
says, well, I don't particularly want to run into that situation.
There are some lessons learned in the word of God over that.
Take all the evil they have. He said, I wish I knew where
Elijah was. And God had so arranged some
unusual circumstances that Elijah's servant called Obadiah, he had
been hiding around there, but he had happened to stay with
Ahab during all that draught and so on and so forth. He said,
You really want to know where he is? He said, I'd love to know
where he is! He said, Jezebel, I'll fix him
up and we'll catch him. He said, I'll bring him in by
tomorrow. Oh, brother, he owned him up. Now, I'm going to tell
you something. When Ahab met Elijah, God happened to make
that evil monarch bow at his shrine and was glad he could
make peace with him. See, we needn't be excited about anything
except just pleasing God. I'm sorry to say, and I'm not
telling you my ways please God to a great extent, but I'm going
to tell you one thing. His mercy and his grace is so
extended to us that sometimes it looks like in spite of our
ways he does it. And I believe it's so. Let's
just come on down to the Psalm and Proverbs while we're there.
Psalm 95. Let's see what he has right here.
I think this fits in right now just to worship the Lord. When
you read those kinds of things and know they are so, then pick
up a phrase somewhere to praise God and bow before your Maker. It is the 95th division of the
psalm. In the 5th verse of that 5 and 6, he says, The sea is
his, and he made it. And his hands formed the dry
land. Now, what are we going to do about that? Are we going
to block God? No, listen to it. Oh, come let us worship. You
want to worship service? This is the attitude of a child
of God. Oh, come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before
the Lord our Maker. He has made all things, brother,
made the wicked for himself. He has made everything to work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. And he is still in the business,
he is still our Maker. I said a few moments ago, no
use to get excited, you know. Quite often now we've had some
excitement around here. A little excitement, but you've
got to have a little excitement or you won't know you're alive.
So don't get excited when you have excitement. I'm just satisfied that a true
love affair won't run smooth. Your husband might know better
than to say anything than to just sit there. So it won't run
smooth. You're going to have some complications.
You know, we're having a love affair. Our Heavenly Father loves
us. It's not going to run smooth all the while. There will be
some problems along the line. But don't get excited when it
doesn't run smooth. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11. It's
a familiar passage right here. Why? I just can't understand God's
ways, I can't understand God's ways either. I just know that
certain things in my life wouldn't be ordered unless God did order
them. I wouldn't order them, and I'd run from everybody else
that did. But you can't run from me. First Corinthians 11, and
verse 19 of that chapter somewhere along there is familiar to us,
we use it so often. But listen to what the Apostle
Paul again has to say in respect to God doing business. He starts off with a different
line of thought there, verse 17 of the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians.
Now, in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that ye
come together, not for the better, but for the worse. Watch that verse closely, let
me read it again. Now, in this that I declare unto
you, I praise you not, that ye come together, not for the better,
but for the worse. You've got to weigh the language
right there. For first of all, when ye come
together in the church, I hear that there be division among
you, and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies
among you," whoever heard Talis such a statement, that's what
God says, "...for there must be also heresies among you, that
they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Well,
why fuss about that, then, when it's all over with with any kind
of a difference? Why, God's using that to manifest
those who he's put tear-stamped approval on. So you have so many
times in life and it looks like things just don't run smooth.
I'm not preaching that everything is running smooth, it just doesn't
run smooth. And it runs that way for a purpose, and that is
that they which are approved may be made manifest. That's
terrible for somebody to say, well, I don't believe this and
I don't believe that. I don't think you go into some
particular unusual business meeting to handle matters like that.
Well, God is in this thing, he's making people manifest, and he
does. That will let you run smooth. You think it over and say, well,
there's nothing I can do about it, it's God who is doing this.
While we're in the New Testament, let's look at another passage
or two here that will fit into this. Colossians 2 is a good
verse of scripture that fits into our subject matter again
this morning, for this is what we are and what he has made and
what he is making of his people. I like this word in the 2nd chapter
of the book of Colossians, in the 11th verse of that chapter,
I believe. I like that word, circumcision,
there. It makes some sense to me this morning as I bring it
to its present-day application in this hour of what you call
the season. Verse 11, he says, for above
there is said in him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily. all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, and we are complete in him," that's right, which is
the head of all principality and power. Then he says, "...in
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hand." Now, who made that circumcision without hand? That is, the circumcision
of Christ, the circumcision of the heart, in whom also ye are
circumcised, with the circumcision made without hand, in putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of
Christ." Well, circumcision, you better
get the word here, de-cision, makes me think of it. We're not
interested in and don't have need of a de-cision, we need
an incision, the cutting away of the heart of Almighty God,
the circumcision of Christ, and he makes that. We wouldn't ask
for that. We don't ask for the operation
of the Spirit of God, where God begins to just cut right on into
the marrow, into the very depths of a human being. Only the incision
that God makes, the circumcision made without hand. Now, what
does he mean without hand? A practical application for just
a moment. It simply means hands-off. It
simply means hands-off, as God does that kind of a work. I don't
have a thing in that, that's God doing that without hands,
and it's made for the simple reason, verse 15, that he having
spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly
triumphing over them in it. He did that! You don't have to
go to a show or look at a show, right here it is, read about
it. He made an open demonstration, a show of what he made, that
he might show us that he is triumphant over them. While we're in the
book of Ephesians, let's look at some things that are still
more practical in respect to the Gentiles, for example, that
we made mention of a few moments ago. The 2nd chapter of the book
of Ephesians is a classical chapter along this line. Well, there's
much confusion even in this realm. of the Gentiles and the Jews
being made one with the Lord Jesus Christ, being made one. There is no possible way that
a Gentile or a Jew or the Muslims or the Christians or anybody
else can be made one except God makes them one. They can fight
and fuss all their life. That won't help a bit. Nobody
ever yet had a fight that helped matters out. They always focused
attention on other enemies on the scene. You can't do that.
It is God who makes that situation one instead of two. I said this
before, but for the sake of some of you who possibly never heard
me say it or possibly never noted in the Scripture, we're fixing
to read right now in this second book of Ephesians right here
where God just simply removed in Christ the middle wall of
partition, some of you builders in here, and you know partition
just separates two different rooms, and God didn't build some
new building. He just tore down the partition
like that and made the Gentiles one with the Jews. And he did
that at the Jews' expense, and somebody comes along and tries
to fix the thing up the best they can. So God joined the Gentiles
and the Jews together. It doesn't say that. It says
he made one out of two, and he did it by joining the Gentiles
into the Jews. Nobody much likes that today
in the field of what we call the dispensational group of people.
Now, God did this. We had Gentiles and we had Jews. The heathen out here at the church,
so on and so forth. So God joined the two together,
and now we have three. That's right, you ask yourself,
we now have Jews, Gentiles, and the Church of God, yet God joined
the Gentiles and the Jews and made one. That doesn't make sense
to just a person who can count two and two. Let's see if the
Word of God says that. In the book of Ephesians 2, the
first verse there that's fitting for us to use in is verse 12.
He is speaking of the circumcision above there, just like we mentioned,
in the flesh. And at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometime were far off are made nigh." Now, we have never been
brought nigh, have we not been made nigh? We are made nigh by
the blood of Christ. Now, what has he done? In respect
to running the race, I tell you what will settle the question
among two people is regeneration, God making the vessel over again.
And people will find their rightful place. Somebody won't say, well,
I don't have much coming to me in a bunch of junk like that.
See, it's all settled in my subject matter as the vessel is made
over again. Then you find your rightful place. So here's the
trouble with the Jew and the Gentile. As such, today, whatever
that might be for you, the unbeliever and the believer, only God can
make that person one whereas they are two. You can't do that.
Your face is that. It's in your family, it's in
your friend, neighborhood, whatever it might be, unless God moves
a barrier and makes two one with the other, we're stuck, that's
all. So what business have we got running around trying to
help out with this, that, and everything else trying to get
somebody straight when only God can do it? He said, well, I'll
tell you what, that man's hollering that he's not treated right.
He said, I'll make him alive. And you shut up and say... That's
a little different, isn't it, you see? You mean tell me because
of the fact that certain things in life haven't fallen to be
your lot? You say, well, I wasn't treated
right. Well, God makes a man alive, and he says, I'm sure
glad that God did the job. And I didn't get what was coming
to me as I see it. It's all settled in this thing
of God doing business, and he's doing business. I'm not too much
alarmed by the situation. I don't know. I'm not one of
these fellows that hope that a famine will come. Of course,
you couldn't tell if I was starved anyhow, somebody said, but I
would know. But I tell you what, if it's
God's ways of doing business like you believe it is, don't
you? Well, I said, I'll get it all straight. I'll put somebody
in office that will settle it. I'll go to my alderman. Well,
I'm glad I don't have any, and the one we did have. He kind
of got in bad circumstances anyhow and ran off with somebody else's
wife. What difference does it make, brother? What God's doing,
he does. It's our business to listen to
God. You can be at peace if you believe this. I don't have any way through
this saying, well, God's going to make a way. That's what he said he'd
do. He said he'd make a way where there is no way. Just settle
down, be quiet, and let's see what he does. For he is our peace. For he is our peace. For what
reason? But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were false, are made now by the blood of Christ. For
he is our peace, who hath made, who hath made to still make it,
who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of
petition between us." Now, let's go back and see what that amounts
to. Verse 6, I skipped it on purpose. and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." That's
the whole thing. Here we are this morning, you
say, are you enjoying the service? Are you here because it appears
that God made you to be guided in this direction? Yes, I am.
Well, we're seated together in a measure in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus because he hath made us sit together. I don't like everybody's ways,
you say. They don't like yours. I don't like everybody that comes
in contact with me. My personality is not worth a
dime, and theirs won't blend. I can't help it, you see. You
can't all be good-looking. God had to make some of us ugly,
and various things. And God did, you see. If you
settle down with, well, why fuss about it? Yes, well, thank God
he's doing that business. And after it's all over with,
you can't tell one from the other, no doubt in that. God is in business,
brother, of making people accepted in the beloved. Folks, just pick
up a passage of where it is, Ephesians 1, verse 6. Let's see
this. Oh, brother, this word, accepted,
I see some word today. It says, If you accepted Jesus,
yes, sir, if a man be honest about accepting two or three
times. Make any difference, let him change your bid. Most of
the professions today that you'll get now when you're out here
somewhere and seeing somebody walk down or something of the
kind are second-handed. They've been made to it three times.
So that may help us out, not press the claim too much. But
I'm going to tell you what, it's not a matter of accepting Jesus. Now, I can preach on that kind
of language. I can preach and preach clear. Can I ask you a
question? Have you accepted Jesus? You'll
accept him. I'll guarantee you, when he gets
done with the situation, you'll be glad to accept him. Well,
what kind of a Jesus has people accepted? Have they accepted
a God whose hands are tied, and who seems to be sitting on the
sidelines somewhere, pulling his hair and screaming, saying,
I didn't expect this to happen? No, sir, brother, he's playing
the game. We're just ten soldiers, as it
were, in the game. That makes a little difference,
you see, and he makes a difference. So this verse of Scripture says
that it's not we who have accepted him. I accepted the Lord Jesus
Christ, and I don't know how to say that in a way to say it.
I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, and then I became one of the
beloved. You've heard that. You say, just believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and he'll make you a lot. Well, how can
you believe on somebody that you don't know about? How can
you believe in somebody that you hate? What little bit you
hear about the person, the natural man receives but not the things
of the Spirit of God, the foolishness under him, how can you believe
when the whole thing is foolish? That's the most foolish thing
I've ever heard. I believe I believe it. That's about what people
have, too. Listen, brother, we made accepted in the Beloved.
We're made accepted in the Beloved, and we'll never be accepted in
the Beloved unless God himself makes us accepted. Now, I'm happy
about that, Brother. If he makes us accepted, while
other people don't accept you, that can't be helped. It may
not go too good against the grain, but after all is said and done,
if God makes us accepted, we're accepted in the Beloved. Let's
see if that's what he says in verse 6. He predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself. I like
that, to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
that's all right. It's he who is doing it. To the praise of
the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. Now, how come it's to be accepted?
My subject, he and he made us accepted in the Beloved. Let's
stay with the book of Ephesians. Let's look at the 3rd chapter
of the book of Ephesians and see if the Apostle Paul has something
else to say in respect to the great mysteries. that we speak
of in the Word of God, and this particular mystery is that the
Gentiles would be made one with the Jews. Let's see how the Apostle
Paul got in on this. How am I getting in on it this
morning? And how are you getting in on it? I think the Word of
God will give us some light there in the 3rd chapter and about
the 5th verse of that chapter, the entire chapter. But Paul
says, coming down through that particular chapter, reading from
verse 1, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus
Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God, which is given me to you." Now, there's
the grace of God again. It's something that's given.
Nobody goes after it, nobody earns it, nobody asks for it.
It's given, and it's the grace that God brings, salvation. Salvation
is something brought, nobody sent for it. Now, that by revelation,
he made known. He did what? Paul, how did you
get on this thing you're fixing to tell us about? Say, he made
known unto me. Well, I thought he made you known.
Today you'd hear, well, he made me known or something. No, he
made known unto you. That's the difference. Which
when you read, he said, by revelation he made known unto me the mystery,
as I wrote afore in words, these words to you. So he comes on
down through there, which in other ages was not made known.
Now, how come the other ages, whatever this is, how come in
ages past that people didn't know about what Paul was known
about? Because God didn't tell them.
He didn't make known to them, that's what he says right here.
Well, is that all right? Yes, it's all right for him to
reveal what he will and to keep that secret which he will. Much
of what we don't know about God would help to make up the book,
which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as
it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit. And he tells us in verse 7, "...whereof I was made a minister."
How come you proclaiming this? God made me a minister of it. Somebody who just picked it up
and ran with it, but he made me a minister of this. Well,
I was made a minister according to the gift of grace. of God
given unto me by the effectual working of his power." How much
more could you ask in a verse of scripture than that? There
is Ephesians telling us then. Well, there are other places.
Somebody quoted that 107th Psalm this morning after the service,
and I thought you were going to pick up what I wanted to say,
but you didn't. You missed it. Turn to the 107th Psalm for just
a moment. Let's see. Reading along the same place,
but there are two or three things. in that psalm that sort of fits
with what we're saying again this morning. Psalm 107 and the
verses of the psalm that I want to use, verse 29. If you've already
heard the reiteration in the psalm, it says the same thing,
or nearly the same thing, some four different times I guess
it is there. So in the 107th reading of the psalm and verse
29, listen to this. Some of that is good before we
get there. He said, verse 26, they mount up to heaven, they
go down again to the depths, their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken
man, and are at their wits' end. That fits my subject matter exactly,
are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses,
he maketh the storm to come. How come the storm's calm? The
emphasis is on the storm being calm. How maketh the storm to
calm? He maketh the storm to calm. And how did he make the
storm to calm? He first made the storm. He first
made the storm. There'd be no calm unless there's
a storm. So that the storm would be calm. Keep in mind, the one
who calms the storm is the one who made the storm. And he calms
it, brother. When you get to that kind of
a place, you are calm. The storm's calm. Peculiarly how the Lord
brings us to a certain place. He brought them, so he bringeth
them unto the desired haven. Most of you know what that's
alluding to, the up and down pilgrimage and pathway of those
Israelites back there that he dealt with. There is another
verse in that psalm that says something like that in verse
36. Listen to what he says there. Let's just read on through it
to verse 36. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness
and for his wonderful works to the children of men. Let them
exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him
in the assembly of the elders. He turneth rivers into a wilderness,
and the water springs into dry ground, a fruitful land into
barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein."
He does that. He turned the wilderness into
a standing water and dry ground into water springs. He does,
verse 36. He maketh the hungry to dwell."
That's where we're dwelling right now. He turned to dry ground. There was a time when where you
now are, your position and place in life was nothing but just
a barren, dry desert, seeking rest and finding none. He turned
that into standing water, into water springs, and maketh the
hungry to dwell there. That's just it, to dwell there,
that they may prepare a city. Well, if that's so, that the
city is prepared for habitation, what would you think of in just
a moment? Well, you'd think of the book of Hebrews, I guess. For he has done what? He has
prepared for us a city. He makes a city. So there's no
city there if he doesn't make that city. I'm prepared to say
that he makes up the city out of this people that we're talking
about right here, but I'm sure that unless he did that, there
just wouldn't be any place to go. Let's go just a little farther. We just mentioned the book of
Hebrews, but while we're in the psalm, we were reading the other
night in that 8th psalm. Let's see, what is this all about?
This psalm can express it better than I can, I'm sure. I think
the 8th psalm and about the 5th verse of that division of the
psalm, we see something here that would be helpful. It actually
brings me to the dust when I see that God bypassed the angelic
realm and picked up fallen man. And you don't need to believe
what I say unless the Word of God says it, but I'm fixing to
read a verse of scripture to you that will tell you that it
wasn't because God couldn't reach fallen angels, for man fell farther
than the angels. Who says that? And he just bypassed the angels,
and like I said, instead of renewing his grip on them, he said, they
are reserved in everlasting change of darkness unto judgment. And
man did the very same thing, fell farther than the angels
and the Son of God reached to get some of them. Won't that
make you praise God? Oh, there can't be any difference,
except he makes a difference. He does, brother. He makes all
the difference, if you'll pardon that expression. In the 8th Psalm,
this is what it says. The psalmist pondered, what is
man? No wonder, I am too. What then
is man? What is man? That thou art mindful
of him, and the Son of man, that thou visitest him. for thou hast
made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned
him with glory and honor." Now, we know that that's so with Adam,
but we also know that this psalm is Messianic when you get the
book of Hebrews especially, and he's speaking about God the Father's
Son, who made him a little lower than the angels, for the purpose
of dying and tasting death, that he might make us higher than
the angels. He stooped lower than the angels
ever fell to get us. Look what that said. Made him
a little lower than the angels, crowned him with glory and honor.
Now made us him to have dominion over the works of thy hands.
Thou hast put all things under his feet. This is the Lord Jesus
Christ. All sheep and oxen, yea, and
the beasts of the field. the thousands there, and the
fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of
the sea, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all
the earth." He says in the book of Hebrews as a commentary, we
don't see all things put under his feet at this present time.
But I tell you what we do see in the book of Hebrews, we see
Jesus. Then he says, "...who was made
a little lower than the angels for this purpose." So he stooped
still farther than the angels, Phil, to pick up one of Adam's
fallen rays and make that man over again. That's what I'm talking
about this morning. That's exactly what I'm talking
about. There is a passage in Revelation
3, and I've made mention of it more times than one. I'm going
to return to the book of Revelation 3 for just a moment, and let's
look and see if there is a passage that I want to bring to your
attention. It is the third chapter of the book of Revelation, and
verse 9 of that chapter. Unless I recognize again it is
God working in me at the will and due of his good pleasure,
I simply make a mess out of it. But when God does that job, I
know that it is well done. And I stood here this morning
to tell you that he started all to make a people like the Lord
Jesus Christ. He divided the human race. He
did that. Who made the difference between
the two seeds? He did. He made the difference. Who asked for the awful battle
that grace puts up? God himself did. God ordered
the whole thing. And he made a difference between
two different seeds. And in so doing, brother, he's
bringing to pass his strange act, his act of judgment, whereby
he divides between the two. And throughout the Word of God,
he keeps telling you, don't fix yourself with what I'm doing,
bow to it and praise God. And this is the answer when he
says, there's always been a question, don't wrestle with the question.
How about the wicked? How about the wicked? They prosper.
This is their day, child of God. Ours is coming. This is their
day, ours is coming. And listen, what are you going
to do? You know what? No wicked human being will ever
praise God until he makes us to do that. We're just as wicked
as Judas ever dared to be. He put a praise to God in our
mouth and in our heart. Now, nobody will ever do that
until God makes them do that. He does make a said number of
people in this life bow to him and praise him. They do that.
You say, well, they do it because they want to. That's because
God made them to do it, behind it all. I know that, and I'm
not standing here this morning just because God said you're
going to do this. I'm not going to do it for any
other reason, except you made me. I praise God for bringing
me to that place. But there is a group of people
who will pass through this time, world, old age, or nothing else
that will bring them to the place where they'll praise God or bow
to what I'm preaching this morning. But they are going to bow. He's going to make every human
being bow when life is over with and say, you made me to get on
my knees, I wouldn't be there. That's right now, brother. You've heard this passage, but
it is a beautiful passage. It's so, and God knows it's so. And sometimes you just get, I
guess, a blues in your walk of life and you say, well, Lord
God, hasten the day, hasten the day for such, for such, when
I shall see the enemies bow before you. He'll go do that the first night.
Now, when you see that kind of language, perk up now. Behold,
I will make them. They're not going to do this.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say
they are Jews, or which say they are saved, that's all that is,
and are not, but do lie a second time. He says, I'll do it. Behold,
I will make them to come and worship before my feet." No,
sir, before thy feet. The child of God is one with
Jesus Christ and so vitally joined to Jesus Christ that he is going
to make our enemy. So don't fret yourself too much
with the enemy. God is going to make every one
of the enemy come to bow not only at his feet but at our feet.
And do what? This is a worship service, brother,
to bow, to make them to come and worship before thy feet and
to know. that I have loved thee, and to
know that I have loved thee." How much stronger and stranger
language could you have than that verse of Scripture right
there? That God is making all human beings, even the wicked,
for a day of evil and for a time when he can show more power than
he's ever shown before. We haven't seen anything until
we see the end of the way and see God separate the whole thing.
He'd go give us more grace than we ever had, or we would no doubt,
if we had a free will, we'd jump right off into that lake of fire.
When you see people plunging into that, not because of their
free will, but because their hands are tied and their feet
are tied and they're cast into an awful place, they're made
to go. You're going to see one thing. You're going to see the
wicked who oppose you. They said, I didn't go along
with the man. I hated him. That's perfectly all right. I
didn't believe that. But God's going to make that
person bow. And if you heard me say, and
it closes the message, some in this time world are salvation.
He said, he made me so I could praise him. Some in this time
world are salvation. And some in the world to come
to damnation. But all had a worship service
to the glory of God. That's too much for us to comprehend.
But God made that old potter, that pottery vessel, he made
that thing over again for a purpose. He did it for his glory, for
the good of his people. We're here again this morning
for no other reason except, well, it is God who maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. That's it. He wouldn't lie down
in green pastures. He didn't make us to lie down in green
pastures.