288 years ago, there's a young child born called David
Brainerd, 1718, 288 years ago. And the Lord called him to be
a missionary, a missionary to the Indians. And he preached
and ministered to the Indians in New York, in New Jersey, in
Pennsylvania. And he died at 29 years of age. The Lord moves in mysterious
ways His wonders to perform. But that young man, left an impact
on this country and on a lot of people. In fact, the great
Jonathan Edwards, I think he died in Jonathan Edwards' home,
died of consumption, TB. But Jonathan Edwards gathered
David Brainerd's journal, his diary together and put it in
print. And it is reported that his diary,
influenced many men to enter the missionary field by the things
that he wrote when he was traveling over the northern part of our
country preaching the gospel. But I found something in that
diary that was a special, special blessing to me and something
I needed to hear and I believe I'll pass it on to you this morning.
David Brainerd wrote in his diary, when God revealed four things
to me through the Scriptures and through the preaching of
his servants, I was completely convinced beyond a shadow of
a doubt that salvation belonged to the Lord. and to him only. I was totally shut up to his
sovereign mercy. And these are the four things
that God taught him. We all need to learn them if
we haven't already. Number one, he said, Almighty
God requires perfect obedience to his holy law. And I could
in no way produce it. Almighty God requires perfect
obedience to his holy law. And I could in no way produce
any righteousness at all. Number two, Almighty God requires
perfect faith. Perfect faith. He that cometh
to God must, must, must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him. Almighty God requires perfect
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his triune God, and in his
precious blood. And I cry, O God, help my unbelief. Number three, he said, I saw
that faith is the gift of God. I saw that faith is the gift
of God. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. And he said, even repentance
is the gift of God. For it's the goodness of God
that leads us to repentance and faith. And he said, fourthly,
I saw that salvation belongs to God and He could save me or
leave me in my unbelief. For he said to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, it's not of him that runneth, it's of God that showeth
mercy. How great a debtor, daily I'm
constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee. What a powerful, powerful testimony. And I've got three questions.
I'm going to preach this morning on sovereign mercy. That's what
Brainerd was talking about, sovereign mercy. Salvation is of God and
only of God. What is? I'm going to ask three
questions. Number one, what is sovereign mercy? Well, it's defined
in the verse of Scripture. Turn to 2 Timothy chapter 1. What is sovereign mercy? 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 9. It's so clear. Listen to it. Very carefully now. 2 Timothy 1, verse 9. Who has
saved us? God has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace, which was given unto us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. That's sovereign mercy. God had saved us and called us,
God had called us, not according to our works but according to
his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. But here's my text. Turn to 2
Thessalonians chapter 2. Here's a fuller, if possible,
definition of sovereign mercy. a fuller definition of sovereign
mercy. Let's look at it. II Thessalonians
2, verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto He called you
by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Sovereign mercy always has to
do with praise to God. First words in verse 13, we're
bound to give thanks always to God for you. Bound to. Every time sovereign election
is mentioned in the Bible, it's connected with praise, praise
to God. Our Lord Jesus Christ at that
time, at that time answered and said, I thank you, Father. Lord
of heaven and earth, I thank you. Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, that thou hast revealed them to babes, even so, Even
so, Father, it seemed good in Thy sight." Always, sovereign
mercy, elective grace, always gives the praise, honor, glory
to our Lord. I want you to turn to Ephesians
chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. When Paul
preached election or wrote about election. He always started out
this way. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Listen. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless God who has blessed us
with all spiritual blessings. in heavenly places in Christ.
According as He chose us, He hath chosen us in Christ before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. Tis not that I did choose thee,
Lord, that could not be. My heart would still refuse thee,
but thou hast chosen me. Tis sovereign mercy Tis sovereign
mercy chose me, and for thy rich grace I thirst, this knowing,
this knowing, that if I love thee, you must have loved me
first. Praise to God. Sovereign mercy
always begins with praise to God. Secondly, look at my text.
We're bound. Verse 13, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse
13, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you,
brethren, beloved of the Lord. Sovereign mercy has to do with
the love of God. Jeremiah wrote, The Lord hath
appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved you with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have drawn thee. Turn with me to 1 John chapter
4. Sovereign mercy always has to
do with the love of God. In 1 John chapter 4, verse 9
and 10. 1 John 4, verse 9 and 10. Listen
to this. herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us. And he sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another. You know, Barnard said to me,
This has been years ago when I first met him. I had a lot,
an awful lot to learn. I've still got an awful lot to
learn, but I had an awful lot to learn when I first met him.
But he said to me one time, he said, you've cut your teeth on
this statement. The gospel, the gospel, the gospel
is found in John 3.16, the kernel of the gospel is in John 3, 16.
He said it is not. It is not. The gospel is in John
3, 14. Let me show you that. Turn to John chapter 3. Somebody
said the gospel is John 3, 16. It's the gospel in a nutshell.
Well, here's the gospel. Watch this now. In John 3, 14. Watch this. John 3, 14. Here's the gospel, here's the
remedy. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
That's the gospel. Christ has got to be crucified.
The blood has to be shed. Christ has to die, death for
us, being made sin for us. That's the gospel. And then the
results is in John 3, verse 15. whosoever believeth in him should
not perish but have everlasting life. Now here is the reason. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish but have everlasting life. There's no blood in John
3, 16. There's no cross in John 3, 16. The remedy is the cross, 14.
The result, 15, that whosoever believeth. And the reason here
is because God loved. That's the heart of sovereign
grace, because God loved us. Not that we loved God, he loved
us. So thirdly, sovereign mercy. It begins with the praise to
God. Sovereign mercy has to do with
the love of God. And sovereign mercy has to do
with eternity. Look at my text now in II Thessalonians
2, verse 13. Now, we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren. Love, beloved of the Lord. God has from the beginning. From
when? From the beginning. Known unto
God are all His works from the beginning. Known unto God are
all His works. You know, I ask our young people.
I usually ask them this through the years that I've pastored
there. I keep asking them three questions. Three questions. Did you choose God or did He
choose you? The second question is, when did he choose you? And the third question is, why
did he choose you? And one time I was preaching
on television and one of the little girls in our church was
homesick. Her mother, her daddy came to
church and, The mother stayed home with a little girl and they
turned on the program at 8.30 Sunday morning. And I asked these
questions. I asked, did you choose God or
did He choose you? She spoke up and said, well,
anybody knows that. He chose us. Anybody knows. No, anybody doesn't know that.
A little five-year-old's been taught the Scripture knows that.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 1 again. Let's look at this. Ephesians
chapter 1, that verse I read just a few moments ago. Did you
choose God or did He choose you? Look at verse 1. Verse 4, according as he chose
us in Christ. When? Before the foundation of
the world. Why? Verse 5, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ himself according
to the good pleasure of his own will. It's not of him that will
it, nor of him that run it, it's of God that shows mercy. Sovereign
mercy has to do with praise to God, has to do with the love
of God, and has to do with God's everlasting covenant made in
Christ before the world began. That's right. Before the world
began. All right. Now look back at the
text. Sovereign mercy has to do, and
it employs means. Listen to me now. Means. It requires the work of the Spirit
and the preaching of the Gospel. Look at my text again. Verse
13 of II Thessalonians 2, But we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, rather than beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through by The sanctification
of the Holy Spirit and belief of the truth. Nobody's going
to be saved who doesn't believe the gospel. That's right. That's
just so. When the Lord was pleased to
save the Ethiopian eunuch, he sent him a preacher. He sent
him a preacher. He was reading the Word. And
he said, who's this talking about? You can't trust one you don't
believe. You can't believe in one of whom
you haven't heard. He said, who's he talking about?
And when God was pleased to save that eunuch, he sent him a picture
of the gospel. And Philip came and began the
scripture and preached Christ to him. And he believed. And he was baptized and went
on his way, happy as a lion, rejoicing. When God was pleased
to save Cornelius, Cornelius was a man that God had his heart
upon from the beginning. He had his heart on the beloved
of the Lord. But he didn't know Christ. He
didn't know the Gospel. He wasn't saved. And God sent
him a preacher, sent Peter down there to preach the Gospel to
him. And old Cornelius sat with all
of his friends. He said, now, we are seated before
you to hear what God has commanded you to tell us. And God, Peter
preached the gospel to them and they believed and they were baptized.
When God was pleased to save Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, a
religious renegade, he thought he knew God, he didn't know God.
But the only way he could know God is through Christ. And so
when that light brighter than the sun blinded him, And he lifted
those sightless eyes to heaven. He said, Who art thou? And our
Lord Jesus Christ said, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. Lord, what would you have me
do? The Lord told him, go down to Damascus. to a street called
Straight, and a man come and tell you what to do. And Ananias
came. Ananias. Let me look that scripture
up. Ananias chapter 20, Acts chapter
22. Listen to this. Ananias came
to him, and this is what he said. Ananias came to him, Acts 22,
verse 12. Alright, listen. And one Ananias,
A devout man, according to the law, having a report, a good
report of all the Jews which dwelt there. He came to me and
he stood and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And the same
hour I looked upon him and he said, The God of our fathers
hath chosen thee, that you should know his will. What is the will
of God? Salvation through Christ. You've got to know that will.
Salvation through Christ, by his blood. By His sacrifice. And you should see the Just One.
Who's the Just One? Capital J-U-S-T. Christ. He that seeth the Son and believeth
on Him hath everlasting life. You see the Just and hear His
words. And you should hear His words.
Salvation comes not through the eye gate. It comes through the
ear gate. You've got to hear the Gospel. He that heareth my
word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life.
You're not going to be saved by looking at the sky and watching
the comets go back and forth and watching gyrations of all
these folks getting too outwardly happy. You've got to hear the
gospel. That's just so. That's just so. Look at my text again. We're
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. But election's not salvation. It's unto salvation. It's unto
salvation. You're saved because God chose
you, but you're saved because Christ died for you, and you're
saved because God gave you faith to believe in Him. That's right. A seller of purple,
a woman that had no husband. She was probably died, but she
was taking care of the business and the family was a seller of
purple. And she went down in the Philippi. She was from another town, Thyatira. She went down to Philippi and
there was no synagogue there. And so she gathered with these
women that made prayer, these women. got together and prayed,
prayed to God. And they didn't know the gospel,
but Paul, God sent Paul to them. And they came and the Scripture
says that God opened her heart. Let's find that in Acts 16. Acts
16. This is so beautiful. Acts 16.
See if I can find it now. Acts 16. I know it's in 16. Oh, here it is in verse 12. And Acts 16, verse 13. And on
the Sabbath day, we went out of the city by a riverside where
prayer was wont to be made. And we sat down and spake to
the women. Here Paul's preaching to these
women, which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia,
a seller of purple, of the city of Tyre, Tyre, which worshipped
God, heard us. Oh, listen, whose heart the Lord
opened, that she attended to the things which were spoken
of God. Chose us from the beginning unto
salvation, unto sanctification of the Spirit. Who opened her
heart? The Spirit of God. What did she hear? The Gospel
of Paul preached. And she was baptized and all
her household straightway. So that's sovereign mercy has
to do with praising God, God's love. It has to do with eternity,
eternal covenant of grace. And it has to do with hearing
the gospel, believing the gospel. Now, here's my second question.
Here's my second question. How may I know I'm one of God's
elect? How may I know that I'm one of
God's elect? Two scriptures. 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1
Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 4. Now listen to this. 1 Thessalonians. Knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. Oh, here's the answer right here.
Paul said, I know you're one of God's elect. I know you're
one of God's elect. How do you know that? Because,
listen, for our gospel, the gospel of God, the gospel concerning
His Son, the gospel of His grace, the gospel of His precious blood,
our gospel didn't come to you in word only. It came to you
in power. It came to you in the Holy Ghost. It came to you in much assurance
as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
That's how you know you're saved. You heard the Gospel and believed
it. We don't. And you became followers
of the Lord. You became followers of us and
of the Lord. People who hear the Gospel follow
the Lord Jesus Christ. Follow His preachers. Have you
received the gospel, the word, in much affliction and joy of
the Holy Ghost? Verse 7. And you were examples.
God made a difference. God made a change in your life.
You became an example. You became not a project, you
became an example to everybody about you. Something happened. Something happened. Grace got
a hold of me. That's what Dr. Stone sang the
other day. Grace got a hold of me. Something happened. Verse
8, you became a witness, for from you sounded out the word
of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Philippi and Achaia, but
to every place your faith to God is spread abroad so that
we need not speak anything. I know what manner of men you
are. Verse 9, now watch this. How do you know you are one of
God's elect? For they themselves show of us what manner of entering
in we have under you and how you turn to God from your idols. You turn to God from your religious
idols. rudiments of the world and these
ceremonies. You've turned to God from your
idols to serve the living and true God. And the next thing,
listen, and to wait on His Son from heaven. That's how you know you want.
Peter said, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. Which comes first? Your calling
or election? Which comes first? Well, with
God, election comes first. Chosen in Him from the foundation
of the world. Calling with you comes first. Election with God
is first. God elected us. Christ be my
first elect, God said, then chose us. With God, election's first. But with you and me, We've got
to be called to find out where one of us was elected. That's
right. My granddaughter graduated from
high school about, oh my, I'm afraid to say it. Anyway, anyway, I went to the
ceremony. I went to the ceremony. Brad
knows how old she is. You're not that old. I'll tell
her. I went to the ceremony and in
all ceremonies in these graduations, they picked the top male student
and the top female student. And we were wondering if she
was a good student. And so they got up and announced
that the number one male student was this young man. And then
they got up and announced top female student is Carrie Coffey. Because I was thrilled to death.
But I asked her afterwards. I said, honey, when did you know
that you won this award? She said, when they called my
name. I said, you didn't have any suspicion
or that nobody slipped your word to you? Nobody. I found it out when you found
it out. He called my name. And I'll tell
you this, your election is from God from the beginning. Your
call comes when He calls your name. That's right. And He will. He does. He called my name. I
heard. I heard. I heard. Little boy used to sit in front
of Spurgeon's church with his hand behind his ear like this,
you know. Like us old folks do, you know. And his mother said,
son, can't you hear Mr. Spurgeon? Yes, ma'am. Why are
you sitting there with your hand behind your ear? Because Mr. Spurgeon says when God saves
a person, he calls them. And I want to be sure to hear
him when he calls me. Oh. The Bible does not say, ho,
everyone that's elect come to the waters. It says, ho, everyone
that's thirsty. Come to the water. The Bible
does not say, Come unto me, all ye that elect, and I'll give
you rest. It says, Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. The Bible
does not say, Ho, he that is elected hath eternal life. It
says, He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life. Don't
get the cart before the horse. Don't try to find out your election
before your call. The Bible does not say, Whosoever
is elected shall be saved. It says, Whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The Bible does not
say, Blessed are the elect, they shall be filled. It says, Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall
be filled. That's just so. Just so. Salvation is not a doctrine,
it's life in Christ. Faith, mercy, love and grace. It's a hard experience. It's
a hard experience. Now, last question. What are
the effects of sovereign mercy? What are the effects of election? Well, let me give you just a
few and I'll quit. Election, sovereign mercy glorifies God.
But of you, of God, are you in Christ, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that is according
as it is written, he that goeth in, let him go in the Lord. Election,
sovereign mercy glorifies God. Secondly, sovereign mercy produces
joy and happiness. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest. and cause it to approach unto
thee, that he may dwell in thy courts and be satisfied with
the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple. Sovereign mercy
promotes humility. Who maketh thee to differ? What
hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if you received
it, why would you glories if you didn't? It produces humility. Sovereign mercy gives you comfort
in trial. I know that all things work together
for good to them who love God, who are called according to his
purpose. I know that. Sovereign mercy produces assurance,
being confident of this one thing, that he that has begun a good
work in you shall perfect it in the day of Christ Jesus. Sovereign
mercy gives comfort in death. David said this in 2 Samuel chapter
23. He said, although it be not so
with my house, God hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure,
this is all my salvation, all my desire, although he make it
not to grow. And sovereign, sovereign mercy,
sovereign grace, sovereign election, assures us that what I'm doing
this morning is not in vain. Because he said in Isaiah chapter
55, if you want to turn over there and let's look at it, what
we're doing this morning, what the pastor's doing over there
in Indiana now, and what we do each large day, is not in vain. Isaiah 55, verse 11. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the things whereto I set it. That's the truth. That's it. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. Precious, precious promises. We thank you and praise your
name. And pray that you take this message that we have preached
this morning, make it effectual to every heart. We know salvation
is of the Lord. We know that grace and mercy
and faith is the gift of God and we wait before Thee. Lord,
do a work of grace in every heart this day to be Thy will for Christ's
sake.