Little Boy at the 13th Street
Baptist Church, that is the first song that I remember getting
hold of me. That verse particularly, where
the Lord said a second look, he gave what said, I freely all
forgive. This blood was for thy ransom
paid. I died that thou mayst live. And I can remember as a very
young boy, for some reason, that song always got ahold of me.
Would you turn back to first Timothy chapter six. Verse 11. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things. And in the context, he's talking
about the love of money, which is the root of all evil, which
has a baseness unbecoming of a man of God. The Lord is your
portion, man of God. And he says, follow after these
things, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness,
which are the only things appropriate to pursue for a man of God. A man of God. That's what I've entitled this
message. We read statements in the scripture,
the kingdom of God, the word of God, the grace of God. The power of God. The gospel of God. The purpose of God. The glory of God. The will of God. The wrath of God. The love of God. the mercy of God, the righteousness
of God, the wisdom of God, the throne of God, the presence of
God, a man of God. Moses was called Moses, the man
of God. Samuel was called Samuel, the
man of God. David, the man of God. Elijah was called the man of
God seven times. Elisha was called over and over
again, the man of God. Now, what is a man of God? I want to be one, don't you?
I want to be a man of God. If I'm a woman, I want to be
a woman of God. What is a man of God? First of all, a man and all that
comes along with being a son of Adam. A man of God is a man. And what does the scripture say
regarding man? Man at his best state. is altogether vanity. Don't you know that so concerning
you, a man and all that's associated with the weakness of fallen,
sinful human nature. A man, don't forget that, but
a man of God. Of has to do with origin, doesn't
it? Not all men are men of God. The Lord said to the Pharisees,
you're of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father,
you will do. John said of false prophets,
they are of the world. Therefore speak they of the world
and the world heareth them, we are of God. He that's of God, heareth us. He that's not of God, heareth
not us. The Lord Jesus said in John 8,
he that's of God, heareth God's words. You therefore hear them
not because you are not of God. David spoke in Psalm 17 of men
of the world, not men of God, but men of the world who have
their portion in this life. And he said, as for me, I'll
be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness. A man of God has
his origin from God. What's that mean? Well, I'm from
Ashland, Kentucky. If I'm a man of God, I'm from
God. And that's mysterious. It's impossible
to explain. But it's so if I'm a man of God,
if I'm a woman of God, I trace my origin to God himself. This is true of every believer.
Would you turn with me to John chapter 17? Now, these are things
that we just believe. We don't understand them. The
more I thought about this, I've been thinking about these verses
of scripture. I thought, my soul. He says. In verse 14 of John
chapter 17, I have given them thy word and the world hath hated
them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world. Best read and not even commented
on. Verse 16. They are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world. The Lord says concerning
his elect, they're not of the world, even as I am not of the
world. Christ came from heaven, didn't
he? Where's he from? He's from God. So are his people. This has something to do with
the eternal union of Christ's people with himself. Stay there
in John chapter 17, verse 20. Neither pray I for these alone,
I'm just not praying for the 12, but for them also, which
shall believe on me through their word. He's talking about all
of his elect and they shall believe on him through their word. That
they all may be one as thou father art in me. and I in thee that
they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou
has sent me and the glory which thou gave us me. I have given
them that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them, thou
in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world
may know that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has
loved me. Now, we wouldn't even believe
that if it wasn't in the word of God, would we? You've loved
them, those that are one with me, you love them as thou has
loved me. Now, has the father eternally
loved Christ? Did his love to the Lord Jesus
Christ have a starting point? He said, behold, I've loved you
with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Oh, our origin is God himself. Now this is true of every man
and woman of God. Turn with me to first Corinthians
chapter one. I hope the Lord will enable us
to revel in this. Verse 30, this is a very familiar
scripture. But of Him are you in Christ
Jesus. How does someone get in Christ?
Of God. Of God. You can't place yourself
in there. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us. Wisdom. Now, what that means
is the wisdom of Jesus Christ is my personal wisdom so that
the thrice holy God who fills the universe, I'm fit for fellowship
and communion with him. You know, God can't have communion
with an animal, with someone that does not have something
that he can have communion with. And I have the very wisdom of
Jesus Christ. My personal righteousness, my
personal righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus Christ
so that God embraces me and every believer. Of Him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God has made into us wisdom and righteousness. Our holy Christ is His holiness,
His personal holiness. is my personal holiness. God's
made him to be to me, sanctification, holiness. And God has made him,
of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us redemption,
complete deliverance. I love thinking about that. Of
him are you in Christ Jesus. Thou, O man of God, flee these
things and pursue these things. You're a man of God. You're not
of the world. You're not from here. You know,
the Lord said to one crowd, you're from beneath. I'm from above.
You're of this world. I'm not of this world. The man
of God is not of this world. That is believed and not understood. Be a man of God or a woman of
God means you have been born of God. Listen to this scripture,
John 1, 12 and 13 says, to as many as received him, to them
gave you the power, the right, the privilege to become the sons
of God, even to them which believe on his name, which were born.
Notice the letters, which were born. Not of blood, Not because
their mom and dad are Christians. Not of the will of man. Not because
a bunch of men got together and said, we're going to pray and
we're not going to give God any rest until he saves this person.
That's fine, but that doesn't save anybody. Not of the will
of the flesh. Not as an act of man's will where
he decided I'm going to become a Christian. Here's how someone's
born. They're born of God. born of God, that which is born
of the spirit is spirit. Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God that liveth and
abideth forever. Now, if I'm a man of God, that
means I've actually been birthed of God. I'm a partaker of the
divine nature. I've been birthed of God. I have
the seed of God. Turn to first John chapter two.
Let me show you some scriptures regarding this. Verse 29. If you know that he is righteous,
do you know that? I know that, don't you? He is
righteous. He is Jesus Christ, the righteous. If you know that He is righteous,
you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. The man born of God doeth righteousness. The righteous nature doeth righteous
things. Now stay with me on this. I've
got four scriptures to show you at a first John chapter or first
John about this thing of being born of God. But there is something
there really is such a thing as doing righteousness. Now you
say, you say all the time that we don't do anything but sin.
What are you talking about doing righteousness? Well, the new
man does righteousness. He loves God. Do you think that
came from the old man? That love you have for God, that
love you have for your brethren. Did that come from the old man?
No, that comes from being born of God. That's the doing of righteousness. Look in first John chapter three,
verse nine, whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. And somebody says, well, that
means he doesn't practice sin. Um, what does that mean? Do you practice sin? Well, do
you do it? Then you practice it. Whosoever is born of God
does not commit sin for his seed. God's seed remaineth in him and
he cannot sin. He lacks the ability to sin because
he is born of God. Now, can that which is born of
God sin? No more than what God can sin.
That's the new nature. What about the sins of the old
nature? That's the old man. He's the one who did it. The
new man didn't. That's the way Paul spoke. You
read Romans chapter seven, that's what, I didn't do it. He did.
He did. Somebody says, well, that's dualism.
Well, call it whatever you want. That's what the scripture teaches.
He that's born of God doth not commit that which is born of
God. The new man, the new creature in Christ Jesus does not sin. The sins are committed by the
old man. I know people can take that and abuse it, but I can't,
I'm not going to not preach the truth just because people abuse
something. It's the truth. First John chapter four, verse
seven. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God and
everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Now,
obviously that's not just talking about a boy loving a girl or
a mom loving his kids. This is talking about that love
that's the result of the new birth. Everyone that loveth. They love God, they love his
people. This is a supernatural love that the natural man does
not possess. Now, I'm thankful for the other kind of loves.
This would be a miserable world if parents didn't love their
children, wouldn't it? And if a man didn't love a woman and
a woman didn't love him, it would just be chaos. I'm thankful for
those kinds of loves. And those are the gift of God,
but that's not the love he's talking about here. He's talking about divine
love. What he says in verse eight, he that loveth not knoweth not
God for God is love. First John chapter five, whosoever. believeth that Jesus is the Christ. This is one of my favorite scriptures.
One of my favorite scriptures. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, believeth that he's God's Christ, God's anointed
prophet, the word of God, God's anointed priest, and God's king. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is what? Is born of God. Does it really say that? Yes,
it does. Yes, it does. And I am relying. It's not just
me giving intellectual sin to the fact that I believe that
he is God's Christ. I'm relying on him as my word from God. I'm
relying on him as my priest to represent me to God. And I'm
relying on him as my king to cause me by almighty invincible
power to do his will. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, is born of God. A man of God is a man that's
born of God. Thirdly, a man of God is a man that God speaks
to. The Lord spake face to face with
Moses as a man speaketh with his friend. Samuel, Samuel, Samuel
replied, speak Lord. Thy servant heareth. Elijah,
what doest thou? God speaks. If I'm a man of God,
that means God has spoken to me. Now, if God speaks to me,
that means he is my teacher, doesn't it? If I'm the only teacher you have,
you're in real trouble. But if he teaches you, if he
teaches you, you're taught, listen to this scripture. They shall
all be taught of God. Every one of God's elect, all
those who believe God, your teacher, they shall all be taught of God.
Every man that has heard and learned of the father cometh
to me. Now you've been taught to come
to the Lord Jesus Christ, that's when you've been taught of God.
You can talk about it, you may know all this high theology and
so on, none of it, you've been taught of God. You've been taught
of God when the very life and soul and heart and being of your
person is to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. To whom? Coming. And you come to him the same
way you came to him the first time, the 10,000th time. It's
just the same thing, coming to the Lord Jesus Christ for everything.
That's what folks who are taught of God do. Now, if God speaks
to you, you hear his words. You know, the Lord said, he that
is of God, heareth God's words. Somebody says, well, I don't
hear. Then God didn't speak to you. It's that simple. Well,
I don't agree with that. Well, then God didn't speak to
you because I know everybody God speaks to, they're going
to hear and they're going to hear God's words. He that is
of God hears God's words. And he said, you therefore hear
them not because you're not of God. Those who are of God, they
hear God's words. Now somebody says, I've never
heard him audibly, nor have I. And anybody that says they've
heard him audibly, they're lying. I mean, it's just that simple.
They're lying. I can't stand it when people say, well, Lord
told me to do this. Lord told me to do that. He did not. He
did not. You're just, you're just trying
to promote yourself. I've heard him speak though,
a whole lot louder than audibly. Turn with me to first Thessalonians
chapter two. Verse 13, for this cause also
thank we God without ceasing, because when you receive the
word of God, which you heard of us, you received it. Not as the word of men, not this
man's opinion or this church's dogma, but as it is in truth. The Word of God, which effectually
worketh also in you. Do you know when you've heard
God's voice? When you know what you're hearing is the truth of
God. And you hear it as gospel, as
good news, not something just you agree with. When you hear
these words, it is finished. Is that good news to you? Is
that gospel to you? Is that the truth of God to you?
That all your salvation is finished by what the Lord did. The man of God is a man that
God speaks to, and the man of God is a man that has the ear
of God. Not only is a man of God a man
that God speaks to, a man or a woman of God is a man or a
woman that speaks to God and he hears them and answers them. Now the man of God, one of the
great examples is Elijah. He is called the man of God,
seven different times in the scripture, seven being the number
of perfection. You want to know who a man of
God is? Elijah's a man of God. And when he appears on the scene,
he begins this way in first King 17, one, he says to Ahab, that
wicked King, as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom
I stand, there shall not be due or reign these many years, but
according to my word. And can you imagine how Ahab
felt? Ahab was that wicked king? He said, it's not going to rain
until I say it rains. And so Ahab spends, then he flees
away and Ahab spends the next three and a half years looking
for this man while everything is drying up. We read in James
chapter five, verses 16 through 18, the effectual fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah was a man subject to like
passions as we are. You know, we have a tendency
to try to put him up. He's like you. He's like me.
He has the same sinful nature. He's a man subject to the same
passions that we are. But listen to this. He prayed
earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not in the earth
by space of three years and six months. No rain for that long. And you can imagine how mad Ahab
was at him. and looked for him everywhere. And then he prayed again, and
the heaven gave rain and brought forth her fruit. If I'm a man of God, I'm a man
who has the ear of God. You know, one of the queens of
England, or I can't remember their queen of Scotland or something,
but I know she couldn't be. She said this about John Knox.
She said, I fear the prayer of John Knox more than all the armies
of whoever she was talking about. A man of God has the ear of God
and the man of God has the special protection of God. When it ceases
to rain, Elijah is brought forth daily. He's brought food daily
by ravens and he's fed from that inexhaustible barrel. And when
some soldiers come to take him, they say, come down quickly.
He said, if I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven
and consume you. And it happened twice. Turn with
me to 2 Kings chapter 16, Elisha. A man of God has the special
protection of God. Now, every believer, every man,
believers, a man of God, and every woman believers, a woman
of God. This is not just talking about some kind of special group.
This is every believer. Second Kings chapter six. And when the servant verse 15,
second Kings chapter six. And when the servant of the man
of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, and host compass,
the city. both with horses and chariots.
And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we
do? He was scared to death. Benedad
had got all these armies after him. Verse 16. And he answered, fear not. For
they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that
he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes
of the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full
of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. You know
what that means? That means if God be for us,
who? can be against us. If God be
for us in foreknowledge, whom he did foreknow, if God be for
us in predestination, whom he foreknew, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son. You know, I got to
thinking about that. God's predestinated me to be
conformed to the image of his son. It's going to happen. It
already has. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
then he also called, if God's for you in calling. Moreover,
whom he called, then he also justified, if God's for you in
justification, and made you perfect in his sight. Whom he justified,
then he also glorified, if God's glorified you. If God be for
you, who can be against you? You see, the man of God has God's
special protection. And the man of God is a knowing
man. You see, he knows God. A man
of God knows the living God. He's not name dropping when he
talks about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a man who actually knows
God so that God would say, I know that man. He's mine. And he's
a knowing man. Listen to this scripture. First
John chapter five, verse 19 says, and we know that we are of God
and the whole world lieth in wickedness. The Lord said, we
speak what we know. We speak what we know. I love
Romans 8, 28. Paul says, we know. that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are called according
to His purpose. How do you know, Paul? We just do, but we know. Well,
I don't know that. Well, I do. I do. We know that
all things work together for good to them that love God. Boy,
there's something powerful about really knowing something, isn't
there? I mean, knowing. Knowing this first. Knowing this
first. that no prophecy of the scriptures
of any private interpretation for the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. We know that, don't we? Paul said, I know that in me,
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I know that. Do you know that? We know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal soul under sin. You know, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I appeal to every believer. Don't
care who you are. If you're a believer, you know,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich yet for your
sakes, he became poor. Oh, the poverty of the Lord on
the cross. He lost everything. that you
through his poverty might be rich. Paul said, I know whom
I have believed and I'm persuaded. I'm convinced that he is able
to keep that which I've committed, which I've entrusted to him,
the salvation of my soul. I know he's able to save me. Peter said, you know, you were
not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold
received by tradition, by the vain conversation of your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ. You know that, don't
you? You weren't redeemed with corruptible things, but incorruptible. John said, it does not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear. We'll be
like him, but we shall see him as he is. I like this knowing
Galatians 2 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, by the faithfulness,
by the obedience of Jesus Christ. I know I'm not justified by my
obedience. I'm justified by his obedience, his faithfulness. I know that. I mean, I know that
I don't have any doubt about that. Knowing this, that the
law was not made for a righteous man, but for sinners and disobedient. You know, believer's not under
law. He doesn't need it. He's a righteous
man. One last scripture, well, two last scriptures, actually.
The man of God in the scriptures, turn to 2 Timothy chapter three. Paul says in verse 14 to Timothy,
but continue thou in the things which thou has learned and has
been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them. And that
from a child, thou has known the Holy scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ
Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. and is profitable for doctrine. What we believe is what the word
of God teaches, nothing else. For correction, for reproof. The word of God reproves me and
I need reproved. Thank God for that. The scriptures
are given for correction when you correct it. I used this illustration
not that long ago. When a plane is going from one
place to another, there's a certain arc it's taking to get to that
destination. And it's always getting knocked
off the arc, wind blowing this way, wind blowing that way, make
it go up, down, over, off the arc. And then it's to be brought
back onto that arc. That's correcting it, correcting
it. It goes off. How often do we
need corrected? We get off the arc and we need
to be corrected. And that's what the scripture
is for. and for instruction in righteousness. You know, the
Bible gives real clear instruction that Jesus Christ is our righteousness,
doesn't it? That the man of God, verse 17,
that the man of God may be perfect. throughly furnished unto all
good works. That's the man of God and the
scripture. Now, one final scripture. Turn
to Psalm 17. Verse 13. Arise, O Lord, Disappoint him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked,
which is thy sword, that wicked man who is afflicting me. He
belongs to you. From men which are thy hand,
O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this
life. This life that is so brief, that's
compared to a vapor that appears for a little time and passes
away. That's life. And it's over. And after that, eternity. And they have their portion in
this life. Now that's a miserable portion,
isn't it? whose belly thou fillest with
thy hid treasure. They're full of children and
leave the rest of their substance to their babes. But as for me,
David, the man of God, as for me, I'm not a man of the world.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I'm going to look at the Lord
in the eye And I can't help but think if
the Lord came in here right now and looked at me, I feel like
I just kind of have to look down. Don't you? I mean, for him to
look at you with those piercing eyes of holiness, I'd be ashamed. I think of the
way Peter must have felt when the Lord looked at him and he
went out wet and bitterly. But the time is coming. When
I behold his face in absolute righteousness, not having any
consciousness of sin. Perfectly righteous. David says,
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. What a blessed heritage every
believer has. I want to be a man of God, don't
you? I don't want to be a man of the world. I want to be a
man of God. I'm from God. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that by thy grace, we might be enabled. to be men
and women of God.