All right, I want to read a parable,
Mark chapter 4, the parable of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in Mark the fourth chapter. Let's
read it as if we had never read it before. It says in verse 1, And he, our
Lord, began again to teach by the seaside. And there was gathered unto him
a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat
in the sea. And the whole multitude was by
the sea on the land. And he taught them many things
by parable, and said unto them in his doctrine, Behold, there
went out a sower to sow. It came to pass, as he sowed,
some seed fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came
and devoured it up. And some seed fell on stony ground
where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang up
because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, it was
scorched. And because it had no root, the
plant withered away and died. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And others fell on good ground.
Good ground. Some had gone on before the sower
got there on this ground. It was good ground. It was prepared
ground. plowed ground, receptive ground,
different, totally different, good ground. And it did yield
fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some thirty,
some sixty, some a hundredfold. And he said unto them, If ye
have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that
were about him with the twelve, asked of him the parable. And
he said unto them, Unto you is given to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of God. But unto them that are without,
all things are done in parables, and stories, and pictures, that
seeing they may see, and not understand. And hearing, they
may hear, they hear the words, hear the voices, but they do
not understand, lest at any time they should be converted and
their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them,
Know ye not this parable? And how then will you know all
parables, if you don't understand this one? The sower soweth the
word of God. In one place he said the sower
is the son of man. are those whom the Son of Man
sends. They sow the Word of God. That's what I'm doing right now. I'm sowing this morning and tonight,
preaching the Word, sowing the Word of God indiscriminately
to all creatures, to everybody, sowing the Word of God. And these
are buried by the wayside where the Word is sown. Now, the wayside
is the unplowed ground, the hard, fallow ground, they call it,
just the old path where everybody walks beside the field. And when
this seed of the word of God is sown, and when they've heard
it, Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that
was sown in their hearts. Much like birds come down and
pick up the seed on that fallow ground, it's not gone down into
the ground, it's just laying on top and birds pick it up and
fly away with it, it's gone. And I understand that kind of
hard ground, hard, shallow ground, unfowed, unprepared, uninterested,
just passing through. And also in verse 16, and these
are they likewise which are sown on stony ground, who, when they
have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness, with
some interest, But it's stony ground, it has no depth, and
they have no root. The roots don't reach down into
the moisture, into the soil. It's just stony ground, there's
no depth. And when they hear the word,
immediately they receive it with gladness, but having no root,
they endure it just for a little while. And afterwards, affliction
or persecution arises for the sake of the word. And immediately
they're offended, they leave, they're offended, because there's
no root, there's no depth. And these are, and I understand
that kind of stony ground, the stony height, but there's a little
interest of some sort, but it passes away, there's no depth,
there's no, it's not like the tree planted by the rivers of
water, you know. Verse 18, and these are they
which are sown among thorns. and buyers, such as hear the
word, and the cares of this world, materialism, all the cares of
this world, education, beauty, covetousness, relationships,
all of this deceitfulness of riches, the lust of other things
entering in and choke the word. And it becomes unfruitful. I
understand that, you do too. But then in verse 20, he said,
And these are they which are sown on good ground. Now, I understand wayside, fallow
ground, unprepared, unplowed, untouched, and there's no growth,
there's no reception of the seed. I understand stony hearts with
no depth, no soil. I understand the cares and riches
of this world. The whole world is taken up in
those things now, but whence this good ground? This good ground. In other words, before the seed
was ever sown, something took place with that ground in preparing
it, plowing it, cultivating it, breaking up the soil, working
on it, preparing that ground for the seed. And when the seed
of the world is sown, It's received, it's loved, it's embraced, it
has the moisture, and it grows up. Now, in some, it produces
fruit. Not all the same, because God's
people aren't all the same. There's fruit 30-fold, 50-fold,
100-fold. There's 10-fold, 20-fold, 60-fold. But they all do grow. The Word finds lodging and root
and depth and moisture. And it grows. Paul said, one
fellow plows, and another plants, and another waters, and God gives
the increase. It's good ground. Now, the Bible
says there's none good. No, not one. The Word of God
says there's none good. If you turn to Psalm 14, David
declares so plainly and powerfully in Psalm 14, Listen to this,
talking about good ground, where does it come
from? It says here in Psalm 14, verse 1, the fool has said in
his heart, there's no God. They're corrupt. They've done
abominable works. There's none that do us good.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see
if there's any. Is there any good ground down
there? Any that could understand and seek God? And there are.
gone aside, they all together become filthy, stinking is the
word, none that doeth good, no not one. Man at his best state
is altogether vanity. So whence this good ground? We
stand before a congregation of people, large, say we're preaching
tonight to the whole city of Ashton, the whole city of Ashton.
And as we preach this word, the word goes, and they hear. But
it falls on the wayside, where men trod and walked and hadn't
been prepared, it's not ready, it has no interest, and they
forget it. And then if somebody hears it
and says, that sounds pretty good, and it for a moment takes
a little root, and he thinks about it, maybe buys him a Bible,
maybe looks at it a little while, but then it's no root, no depth,
so he leaves it. And then some fall, some folks
are all cluttered up with the world and business and all these
things, they hear it and they take a little time, but after
a while these other things crowd in and they're not interested. But you, the word came to you,
and you heard it, and you, it's like Christ said, Brother Dale
read a while ago, I've given your word to the men you gave
me. And they received it, and they
believed it, and they know I come from you. I've given them your
word, and they received it, and they believed it, and they know
I've come from you. Now how'd that ground get ready
to receive that word? Well, the old timers, and this
is the title of our message, the old writers, these are men
back yonder who had time to study. and time to look into the word
of God, and hours and hours and hours each day to inquire into
the things of God which were most, was uppermost to them. And they called this pervenient
grace. That's spelled P-R-E-V-E-N-I-N-T,
pervenient grace. Now in my dictionary over at
my home in the study, it's in there. My dictionary here, Webster,
in the office, is not in there. But in my dictionary at home,
this is what it says, provenient, and it uses the word grace, provenient
grace. It's grace before grace. In other words, before God in
grace sends you a preacher, God works in your heart to prepare
you for that preacher's coming. Ethiopian Munich is an example.
Ethiopian eunuch was disturbed and troubled about his relationship
with God, and he was seeking something. He didn't know what.
And God sent him a preacher, and he was reading the Word.
He just sent him that preacher, identified the one of whom the
prophet spake. He said, That's it. That's it. That ground was prepared before
he ever heard that word. So Cornelius and his people,
he's a devout man, a religious man. But he wasn't like other
men in the sense that he was interested in God. And he began
to inquire, he began to pray, and God spoke to Peter and told
him to go down and preach to that man and his family. And
Peter came down there, and Cornelius, a Gentile, gathered his family
together and said, We're all here now to hear what God's told
you to tell us. And they sat there and they heard
the gospel, and they were all baptized that night, confessing
Christ. You see, this is grace before
grace. I'll tell you another thing my
home dictionary says, it's a good one. It's grace preceding any
human action before you ever hear. God's working in you, giving
you ears. You see, you're not going to
hear unless you have an ear to hear. Everybody's got to have
an ear. You're not going to see if you've got an eye. And the
hearing ear and the seeing eye is of God. And the hearing ear
will precede the way. And the good ground will precede
the soul and seed. The seed's got to be in grace. Here's another definition. Provenient
grace is grace manifested before any human knowledge or any human
response or any human action. It's God working in you to do
his will. And when his will is revealed
to you, you'll do it. Let me show you some scriptural
examples. Turn to Genesis 6. Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter
6, reading verse 7. Genesis 6, verse 5. And God saw, God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth. Every imagination
of thought of his heart was only evil continually. That's us by
nature, by birth. And he repented the Lord that
he'd made man on the earth. He grieved him at his heart and
he said, I'll destroy man. whom I have created from the
face of the earth. Both man and beast and creeping things and
fowls of the earth, it repented me, I made them." But Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. God Almighty chose Noah, set
his love upon Noah, made Noah an object of his grace, and came
down and told Noah, there is a flood coming, build an ark.
And Noah built the ark. Turn to Jeremiah 1. Listen to what he says about
the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 1, verse 4. The word
of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the belly,
I knew you. Before you came out of your mother's
womb, I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet unto the nation.
you were ever conceived in your mother's womb. I knew you and
set you apart, put my love upon you. Look back at Psalm 139. This is one of my favorite Psalms.
Psalm 139. It's such a blessing. Psalm 139,
verse 13. Listen to this. For thou hast
possessed my reins, my reins, of course, is my soul. My being,
my kidneys, is what the old Hebrew says, has covered me in my mother's
womb. I will praise thee, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous at thy works, and that
my soul knoweth right well. But my substance, my strength,
and my body was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret,
curiously wrought in my mother's womb. Your eyes did see my substance. I didn't see you. I didn't know
you, I didn't love you. I was a son of Adam, conceived
in sin, shaped in iniquity, brought forth from the womb, speaking
lies. But you knew me." That's true of every one of these
people. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning.
The foundation of God stands sure. The Lord knows them that
are his. He said to those people of the judgment that boast of
their works, he said, I never knew I never did know you, don't know
you now, never did know you. But he says here, he knew me
before I was conceived in the womb. Not only that, your eyes
did see my being, yet being imperfect, and in your book, the book of life, the book of
the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, the book of God,
all my members were written, right there, written before I
was ever born. went in continuous, which in
continuous were fashioned, and my name was written, when as
yet there was not a member in existence." But God knew me,
God knew me. Scripture said of, well, let's
just read Luke chapter 1, listen to this, John the Baptist, Luke
chapter 1, and these are not special exemptions, no such. This is the way of all God's
children, all God's children. Luke 1, verse 13. The angel of
the Lord came to old Zacharias in chapter 13, the old priest,
up in years. The angel said, Luke 1, verse
13, "'Fear not, Zacharias, thy prayer is heard. Thy wife Elizabeth
shall bear a son, called his name John. Thou shalt have joy
and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth, for he
shall be great in the sight of the Lord." Well, maybe he won't
believe. Maybe he won't decide for Jesus. You never know. You don't have
to have a powerful preacher to convert this fellow. No. I promise
you. I promise you God says he'll
be great in the sight of the Lord, because he's already great
in the sight of the Lord. He shall neither drink wine nor
strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost from
his mother's womb. I could read you many more. He
said of Jeremiah, I have loved you with an everlasting love,
therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Why? I loved
you and I've drawn you. But I want you to read Romans
chapter 9. Let's look at Romans 9. Grace
before grace. Romans chapter 9. Romans 9, beginning with verse
11. Let's begin with verse 10. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even our father Isaac, the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said to her, The elder
shall serve the younger." The good ground was prepared by God before he
was born, the good ground. Esau was a hard man, a rebellious
man. But Jacob was a man whose heart
God had touched, and God chose him before he was born, before
he did any good or evil. It's written in verse 13, as
it's written, Jacob ever loved, Esau ever hated. What shall we say to this? Is
God unfair? Is God unrighteous? God said to Moses, I'll have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
And I believe the sum and substance of provenient grace is described
in a short verse of scripture in 1 John 4. 1 John 4, verse 19. This to me
is the sum and substance of grace before grace, provenient grace. Ground prepared for the Word.
Spirit of God preparing the heart to receive the Word of God. In
1 John 4, verse 19. We love him. We believe him. We receive him. But we love him
because he first loved us. We know God because he first
knew us. We love God because he first loved us. We choose
God because he chose us. We come to God because he came
to us. One of the old hymn writers wrote
this hymn. Before thy hands had made the
sun to rule by day, or earth's foundations laid or fashioned
Adam's clay, what thoughts of mercy flowed toward us in Christ
our Lord? T'was grace that wrote my name
in God's eternal book. T'was grace that gave me to the
Lamb, who all my sorrows took. It was with an everlasting love
that God, his own elect, embraced, before he made the worlds above,
or earth, on her huge columns placed. It was grace that taught
my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious
did that eternal grace appear! The hour, I believe, how precious! Let me give you four things.
God's grace, number one, is eternal grace. It's eternal grace. Turn, if you will, to 2 Timothy,
chapter 1. God's grace is eternal grace. You see, eternal grace has an
eternal God. Eternal grace has an eternal
covenant. Eternal grace has an eternal
surety. He is the surety of an everlasting
covenant. Eternal grace has an eternal
sacrifice. He was Lamb slain for the foundation
of the world. This is grace. Eternal grace
has an eternal God, an eternal purpose, an eternal covenant,
an eternal surety, an eternal sacrifice, and eternal grace
has an eternal priest. He is a priest forever, after
the altar of Melchizedek. And eternal grace has an eternal
people, whom he foreknew, he predestinated to be conformed
to the image of his Son, and whom he predestinated, he called.
Whom he called, he justified, and whom he justified, he glorified.
Here it is pictured in 2 Timothy 1. I'm reading verse 7 through
verse 10. 2 Timothy 1, beginning with verse
7. And he's writing to young Timothy,
a young preacher. And he says in verse 8 of 2 Timothy
chapter 1, verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord. That's the word of the Lord.
That's the gospel of the Lord. That's the witness of Christ.
Don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. And don't be ashamed
of me, his prisoner. be thou a partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God." Now, what's this?
According to the power of God. "...who has saved us and called
us with a holy calling." God did it. "...not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus." Now, that's
all very important. saved and called, not by our
own works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was
given us in Christ Jesus, when? Before the world began. That's
when it was actually given. Arthur Pink wrote a tract one
time on justification, and he called it four-fold justification. Justification is That means to
be without sin, to be declared not guilty. Whom he justified,
he glorified. Who shall anything to the charge
of God's elect is God that justified us. A man who is justified is
not guilty, he is holy in the sight of God. When did God justify
us? First, in his own mind and purpose,
we were justified before the world began. You can call that
eternal justification, and a fellow can get upset about it. But nevertheless,
when was Christ crucified? When he died on the cross. Not
in the mind of God, he wasn't. Not in the purpose of God, he
wasn't. Not in the word of God, he wasn't. He was crucified before
this world ever had existence. Genuinely, factually crucified
in the purpose of God. When were you in Christ? Were
you in Christ when he was crucified, and you were in Christ before
the world began? And his blood is as was effectual for those
Old Testament saints as it is for you now. Moses was saved
by the blood, Abraham was saved by the blood, but the blood wasn't
shared. It was in God's mind. That's right now. Eternal. Call
it what you want to, but it's so. And then I was justified. When Christ died on the cross,
when he actually took my sins in his body on the tree, I was
justified, totally, completely justified. He died for his people. He said, I don't pray for the
world, I pray for them which thou hast given me. Thine they
were and you gave them me. I pray for them. He died for
them. He put away our sins. We were
justified 2,000 years ago. All the elect of all generations
were in Christ when he died and were justified. justified through faith. I'm
a rebel. Born a rebel, lived a rebel,
would stay a rebel. But one day on my Damascus road
to hell, God stopped me. Like he did Saul of Tarsus. Stopped
you. He said, whoa, not that. Now you sit down and listen.
And he sent a preacher to tell me who Christ is, who I am, what
Christ did, why he did it, where he is now. And God gave me faith
to believe that. And that's when I was justified,
justified through faith. Not without it. A man's not going
to be justified because God chose him. He's not going to be justified
back yonder before the foundation of the world unless he hears
the gospel and believes it. And that's right. Faith comes
by hearing, hearing by the word of God. And we're saved through
faith. We believe him. And then one
of these days, God's going to put this body in the grave and
take me to glory, and I'm telling you I'm going to be justified
then. I mean glorified. I mean justified where even God
can't find anything wrong with me. I'll never say another evil
word, never think another evil thought, never experience another
sinful moment. Perfect! And that's when I'll
be justified. He that hath begun a good work,
when did he begin it? Well, you know when he began
it. He'll finish it in the day of Christ Jesus. And not till
then. Old David said, I'll be satisfied
when I wake with his likeness. That's when I'm going to be perfectly
satisfied and God's going to be perfectly satisfied with me.
He is in Christ now, but he's going to be in me. Now then,
all of that, verse 9 says, was given us in Christ before the
world began. But it's now manifest by the
appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior Christ Jesus, who has
abolished death and has brought life and immortality to life
through the gospel. Christ was crucified in the purpose
of God, but he had to die. I was chosen to salvation, but
I've got to hear the word and believe it, and I'm going 2 Thessalonians. Turn to 2 Thessalonians. Chapter
2, 2 Thessalonians. In 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13,
listen to this. But we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, loved you
with an everlasting love, beloved of God. You didn't love him,
he loved you. You love him because he loved
you. Because God has, from the beginning, chosen you to salvation. He chose you. Through sanctification
of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is going to quicken you. We read
that a while ago, awaken you. And bring you to faith through
belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you, by our
gospel, to the obtaining of the glory, to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand fast, stand fast, and hold
the traditions which you've been taught, whether by word or by
epistle. Now one more, turn to Ephesians
1. Ephesians chapter 1, grace before grace, it's all the way
through the word. Provenient grace. Grace preparing
us, our hearts. Provenient grace. Ephesians 1. I'm not going to read this. I
read this this morning, much of it, but I want to show you
some things here. All the things that God did before we ever heard
the gospel, before we ever heard, before we ever believed, these
things were done. Now look at verse 3. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.
He did that before the world began. He gave us a heritage. According as he chose us, this
is 4, I believe, he chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. He determined that we should
be holy and without blame before him. He predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. That's going to be our goal in
the end, and the consummation of our salvation, to be like
Christ, according to the good pleasure of his own will. To
the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he made us acceptable
in Christ. He accepted us in Christ. In
whom we have redemption, he redeemed us through his blood. In whom
we have forgiveness of sins. In verse 9, he made known unto
us the mystery of his will. In verse 11, in whom we obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of the glory of his grace, who
trusted in Christ, in whom you also trusted. When? After you
heard the word. true gospel of your salvation. That's when you trust him. Isn't
that clear? Provenient grace. Grace before
grace. The ground prepared and plowed,
prepared for the Word. The need established, the thirst
established, the hunger established, and the Word is preached and
is received and believed and rejoiced in. I want to show you something
over here, Hebrews 1. God's grace is eternal grace,
it's restraining grace. In Hebrews 1, verse 13-14, to which of the angels said he
at any time, sit on my right hand till I make thy enemies
thy footstool. Are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation? God predestinates our steps. Hang on to that now a minute.
The angels are sent forth by God to minister to them who shall
be the heirs of salvation. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. And they're not now, but they will be heirs of salvation.
And he gives his angels charge over them, predestinates each
step. You see, election has to do with
individuals in Christ. Predestination has to do with
what they're going to be. And God predestinates us, like
Moses. Pharaoh gave orders to kill all
the babies, but God wouldn't let him kill Moses. God wouldn't
kill Moses. God had his mother fix him in
a little basket. Now one woman here would take
her child and put him in a basket and scoot him out on a lake.
A little two week old baby. Scooting him out on a lake. God's
angels were all around it. And God brought that woman down
there and she saw him. She had her girls go and get
that little baby. This all predestinated. The angels
were around there. The prophet of God said, Lord,
show this young man that there's more for us than against us.
And God opened his eyes, and he saw an army. He took that
baby home, raised her. What about Ruth? As she was down
there in that pagan land, Moab. Didn't know anything about God. And here comes a pharaoh from
Bethlehem, son of Elimelech and Naomi. And he courts her and
marries her. The boy, he died. Just a short
time. He's dead. His brother's dead.
His daddy's dead. Nobody left but her and Naomi.
Poor, poor people. And Naomi tells him, you just
stay here, I'm going back to Bethlehem. No, I'm not going
to stay here. She's one of God's own. She's going to be the grandmother
of King David. But she's as ignorant as a tadpole.
But God's not ignorant of her. He surrounded her, protected
her, and brought her the best of him. And sent her out there
as a poor beggar to pick up stuff that the reapers had left. I
mean, that's humiliating. Here's a beautiful woman out
there scrounging around in a field, picking up what little pieces
of stuff she can take home, you know. One of God's own! But he
got the angels around her. And he brought her to meet grace
before grace now. If you go over your life, you
see the same hand directing you. Let me show you that in Psalm
37, the same hand directing you. You haven't taken a step, he
didn't order. You haven't walked a mile, he
didn't decree. You haven't been in any situation that he didn't
ordain. That was Ruth. Boy, she went
through some tough times. God made her one of the four
women he named in the line of Christ. Look at Psalm 37. Psalm 37, verse 22. For such as be blessed of him
shall inherit the earth. They that be cursed of him shall
be cut off. And the steps of a good man,
what kind of man? Good ground. Not thorny ground,
not stony ground, not waste, good ground. steps of a good
man, his steps are ordered, established by the Lord, and he delighteth
in his way. And though he fall, he'll never
be utterly cast down, because God upholds him with his hand. Where you are, you're his. What
you are, you're his, if you want to hear the length. And that
grace and mercy is upon you from before the foundation of the
world. One of the old writers said this, though dark my way,
he was my guide. No foe can destroy me with him
by my side. The heirs of salvation I know
from the world will never see death, till by faith they see
their Lord, and are changed by his Spirit, redeemed by his grace. And the angels, now watch this,
I read a while ago, the angels are sent as ministering spirits
to those who shall be the heirs of salvation. Exodus 14, let's
read some places where the angels in the word of God are described
as surrounding the people of God. Here in Exodus 14, verse
19, Ishmael is fleeing from the Egyptians. The Red Sea is in
front of them and the Egyptians are behind And verse 19 said,
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed
and went behind them. That's where the enemy is, back
up. Removed and went behind them. And the pillar of the cloud went
from before their face, stood behind them. God's protecting
His own. And it came between the camp
of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and it was a cloud,
it was darkness to them. They were in total darkness,
couldn't move a muscle. But it gave light by night to
these of God's chosen, so that the one came not near the other
all night long." Angels of God. You didn't know it. They were
there. You men out in war and battle,
God wouldn't let you die. No way, no way. Let's look at
Exodus 23, just a few chapters over, Exodus 23. Exodus 23, verse
20. Behold, I send an angel before
thee, to keep thee in thy way, in the way, and to bring thee
into the place where I prepare it. I send an angel. Let's turn
to Psalm 91. Listen to this. Turn to Psalm 34, verse 7. Let's read verse 6. This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him and saved him out of all his trouble. The angel
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and he delivers
them. Now Psalm 91, verse 1. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. Verse 11, For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their
hands, lest thou dash thy foot upon a stone. Thou shalt tread
upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon,
shalt thou trample under feet, because he set his love upon
me. Therefore I'll deliver him, I'll
set him on high because he's known my name. If you call on
me and I'll answer him, I'll be with him in trouble, I'll
deliver him and honor him with long life, will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation?" A couple more, let's turn to Matthew 18.
And here in Matthew 18, our Lord is talking about his children,
Matthew 18. He calls them the little ones.
the little one, Matthew 18. He is warning folks against mistreating his children. He is not talking about infants,
he is talking about his children. Our Lord called us that. He said,
The children you gave me. And here he's talking about it.
He said now in verse 10, Take heed that you despise not one
of these little ones. For I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to
seek and to save that which is lost. God's grace is eternal grace.
it's prevenient grace, it's regenerating grace, and last of all, it's
sufficient grace. And I'll ask you to turn to Philippians
1, verse 6. It's sufficient grace. Philippians
1, verse 6. Being confident of this very
thing, as Paul the Apostle writing to the church of Philippi, I'm
confident of this very thing. that he which hath begun a good
work in you, he'll perform it, he'll perfect it, he'll finish
it, until the day of Jesus Christ. In closing, let me read you,
I won't ask you to turn to it, but I want you to read, I want
to read to you a few verses about this sufficient grace, redeeming
grace. Paul said in Romans 3, being
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that's
in Christ Jesus. Romans 5.20, where sin did abound, grace did
much more abound. 2 Corinthians 9, for the exceeding
grace of God which is in you. 2 Corinthians 12, he said to
me, my grace is sufficient for you. Ephesians 2.7, that in the
ages to come he will show the exceeding riches of his grace
toward us in Christ Jesus. Titus 3, being justified by his
grace, we are made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. And the God of all grace, after
you have suffered a while, who called you to his eternal glory,
he will establish you, he will strengthen you, he will settle
you, and he will call you home. Oh, thank God for grace before
grace, and grace in grace, and grace after grace. But it's all
of grace.