And tonight, in the 630 hour,
I'm going to bring a message from Hebrews 10, verse 14, which says, by one offering,
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. The title
of the message is them that are sanctified. What is sanctification? Who are them that are sanctified? It's going to be a plain message,
a very simple message, a very clear message on this subject
that has been so confused and misused in this day, sanctification. I believe you'll be helped, and
it won't be an intellectual, theological, hard-to-understand definition
of sanctification, because there are people who are sanctified
who can't even spell sanctification. So there's no reason to make
it complicated. There are people in Mexico and
other places who are sanctified that couldn't spell it if you
were going to shoot them, or give you a definition probably.
All right, that's tonight's message. Here is this morning's message
for what it is. Ephesians 1. Quite often we preach from the
first 14 verses, I've brought, I guess, hundreds of messages
from Ephesians 1, 1 through 14, because it's such a clear-cut
declaration of grace and mercy and peace in Christ. It's such
a clear and plain, easy to understand proclamation of salvation by
the free grace of God, isn't it? A friend of mine read that chapter
to a preacher. He told him, he said, I'm just
going to read this now. You listen. Just going to read
it. When he got through, he asked
him, said, now don't you believe that? He said, not like you read
it. That's a true story, not like
you read it. But there's just one way to read
it, and that's as it's written. And there's one way to receive
it, and that's like it's written. Salvations of the Lord. And in
those first verses, Paul talks about the work of
the Father in choosing us and accepting us in the beloved.
And he says that was all done to the praise of his glory. And
he talked about the son who redeemed us by his blood and revealed
the mysteries of grace to us and gave us an inheritance. And
he did that to the praise of his glory. And then the Holy
Spirit who quickened us. and revealed Christ to us and
taught us the gospel and sealed us. He did that to the praise
of his glory. Well, good reports had come to
Paul from this body of believers whom God chose, for whom Christ
suffered, to whom the Holy Spirit came and called them. had come
to Paul regarding these people. He says in verse 15, Wherefore
I also, after I heard, I heard some good reports about you,
I heard about you. Word is out on you. And the word, the report, the
word that's out on you and the reports in regard to you didn't
have anything to do with material things such as numbers and buildings
and programs, seems like that when you hear about a church
today or hear about a religious work, it's always how many or
how big or how rich, how much. Paul said, I heard two things
about you, and these are the two vital graces, and this makes
my heart rejoice. I heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I heard about your faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I heard that you people believe
the gospel. I hope that's the report that's
being circulated about me and about you. Those people believe
the gospel. Those people love Christ. And
the second thing I heard about you was that you love each other. I'll tell you, those are the
two vital graces, your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and
your love unto one another. Faith in Christ is the cause
of love. That's the cause of love, and
love is the evidence of faith. Faith is the cause of love, and
love is the evidence of faith. Let me show you that in 1 John
5. 1 John chapter 5. Now listen to this. We're born of God, we believe,
and we love. You can't replace any of that. We're born of God. Being born
of God we believe, and believing we love. You see that? All right. Verse 1 of 1 John 5. Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. He's not born
of God because he believes. He believes because he's born
of God. You see that? Whosoever is born
of God believes. Whosoever believes is born of
God. And everyone without exception. Everyone that loveth him that
begat, who's that? That's the Father. Loveth him also that's begotten
of him, that's the Son. And also, whosoever loves the
Father loves the children of God who are begotten of him.
Not only the first begotten, only begotten, son of his love,
but every son of his love. Whosoever is born of God believes
Christ, and believing Christ he loves. Loves Christ and loves
Christ's people. And by this, this is the evidence,
you see, that's what I said, it's the evidence of faith. By
this we know that we love the children of God when we love
God and keep his commandments. This is the love of God that
we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous,
they're not tiresome, they're not grievous to a believer. So
Paul said in verse 15, I heard, the reports have come to me that
you believe God's Word, you believe Christ, and you love one another. Now verse 16, and I cease not
to give thanks for you. making mention of you in my prayers.
These are things that follow one another. Spurgeon says things
that accompany salvation. Salvation is accompanied by graces. Accompanied. And here's the thing. When true faith in Christ is
manifested and a genuine love for Christ and his people is
manifested, And these are rare gifts. These are rare treasures. These are the gifts of God. I'm
talking about true faith. Paul said, I've heard of your
faith in Christ and your love for one another. And now where
these are found, where genuine, God-given, true, persevering
faith in Christ and a genuine love I mean a love for God and
a love for his people. That's a rare treasure. That's
a rare treasure. But where they are found, where
they are genuinely manifested, the two responses, twofold response. First of all, we give thanks.
And we give thanks to the right source. Where I find a man or
woman or young person who really believes God, not for convenience,
and not just for comfort, and not out of a fad, and not because
of some reward they expect to receive from it. When I found
a person who sincerely believes the gospel, laid down their lives
for this cause, and really loved Christ and loved his people,
boy, we give thanks to God. That's what Paul said in In 2
Thessalonians, turn over there and let's look and see what Paul
said here. We give thanks to God. I cease not to give thanks
for you. But we don't give thanks to you,
we give thanks for you. Isn't that what he said? I don't
give thanks to you. I was holding a meeting for a
preacher one time. Years ago, we went home from
the service and I said, you did something tonight that bothered
me. Pastor, I usually don't say these things. I usually keep
them to myself, but I'm going to rebuke you because it's a
weakness you're showing that needs to be corrected. It's dishonoring
to God. Oh, he said, what on earth did
I do? I said, I counted. Six times tonight. Six times
you thanked those people for coming to church. You thanked them. You actually
thanked them for coming to worship God. You said, I thank you for
being here. I thank you for coming. I thank
you. My friends, I don't thank you
for coming here this morning. I thank God that you have the
desire to come here. We ought to thank God we can
come here. We ought to thank God we have
a place to worship him. We ought to thank God we have
somebody to preach the gospel to. It's our privilege to be
here. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. I'm glad I could walk
in that door this morning by his grace. Some can't be here. My daughter said before she died,
it's better not to live than not to be able to worship. It's better to, and that's what
she said, when she couldn't come to church any longer, she said,
I'd rather die than not be able to worship God.
And you want me to thank you for being here? I said, don't you ever do it
again in my presence. That's right. Oh, I thank God for you. I don't thank you, I thank God
for you. That's what Paul said here in
2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. We are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, always to God for you, brethren, the love of
the Lord, because Because of what? Because you
came to Jesus. Because God, from the beginning,
chose you to come to Jesus. He chose you to salvation. He chose you to love Him. He chose you to be His son. He chose you. You didn't choose
Him. You wouldn't choose him now if
he let you go. If he let you go, you'd go the
route of everybody else. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. We're not kept by faith. We're
kept by the power of God. Everything, I am what I am by
the grace of God. I thank God. Oh, I thank God. Over there in chapter 1, I read
a while ago, Blessed be the God and Father, verse 3, of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings,
and the heaven is in Christ, according as he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy. That's his work. That's his work. I thank God for you. Thank God
for you. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on
others thou art calling, do not pass me by. If he does and leaves
you to yourself, you're goner. That's right. Now, my friend,
that's not hard. That's just subtle. The truth is never hard. to a
person that wants to hear it. It's a comfort, isn't it? It's
a comfort. So I don't, I cease not to give
thanks for you, and the second thing, I cease not to pray for
you, making mention of you in my prayer. Let me tell you, let
me tell you where you find, Paul's thrilled to death. He said, I've
heard, I've heard of your faith in Christ. I've heard of your
love for one another. I've heard of it, and I never
cease to thank God that you have faith. He gave it to you. I never
cease to thank God that his love was shed abroad in your hearts
by the Holy Ghost. It's not a product of your nature.
I give God the glory, and I pray for you. I pray for you. Someone asked Charles Spurgeon
one time, the success Here's the secret of his success in
preaching the gospel. He said it's twofold. It's twofold. Number one, I am
what I am by the grace of God. It's not I, but the grace of
God in me. Secondly, my people, my friends,
pray for me. He said that's the secret. That's
the secret. Number one, it's by God's gift
and grace. And secondly, it's because my
people pray for me. And over here in 1 Samuel, I
want you to listen to this. 1 Samuel, chapter 12. Do you pray for one another?
Do you pray for your pastor? Do you pray for the worship services? Do you pray for the Spirit of
God to bless his word? Do you pray? Those who have faith
and those who love Christ, they pray for one another. Listen
to Samuel over here in 1 Samuel 12, verse 20. And Samuel said to
the people, fear not. You have done all this wickedness,
yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord
with all your heart. And turn ye not aside, for then
should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver."
And they are vain. So the Lord will not forsake
his people. He's not going to forsake you.
Don't forsake him. He's not going to forsake you.
He's not going to forsake his people for his great namesake,
because it pleased the Lord to make you his people. He's not
going to leave you. He chose you. He's not going to forsake his
people. It pleases God to make you his people. Moreover, as
for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord and cease
to pray for you. I'm not going to quit praying
for you. But I'll teach you the good and the right way. Fear
the Lord. Only fear the Lord and serve
him in truth with all your heart. in truth of the gospel, in Christ
is the truth, with all your heart, for consider how great things he's done for
you. What great things he's done for
you. If all the blessings stop right
now, it's still been innumerable. What great things he's done for
you. But now, if you shall still do wickedly, you'll be consumed,
both you and your leader." So he says here, I give thanks
for you and I pray for you. And then we have here a special
prayer for them, a special prayer. Beginning with verse 17, I pray
The three things here that Paul prayed for this people. Number
one, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, and why does he
say that, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ? Because listen, you have no relationship
with that God apart from Christ. You understand that? God's the father of all men.
No, he's not. He's the creator of all men.
But Christ himself said to those Pharisees, if God were your father,
you'd love me, because I came from God. But he said, God is
not your father, the devil is your father. Isn't that what
Christ said to them? So don't give me this fatherhood of God.
Tommy Rock, that's all it is. He's not the father of all men,
he's the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and those are in Christ. Everybody's not the son of God.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear we shall
see him and be like him. To them who believe on him and
receive him, to them gave he the privilege to become sons
of God who were born, not of the blood, the natural genealogy,
not of the will of man, not of the will of the flesh, they are
born of God. Your children were born of you. Everybody is not
your child. Your children were born of you.
My children were born of me. God's children are born of God,
not of the flesh, not of the will of the flesh, but of God. You see that? So that's the reason,
he says, that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, I pray he may give you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation, wisdom and revelation for the acknowledgment of him. Who is this spirit of wisdom?
Turn back to John 16. It's the Holy Spirit. It's the
Holy Spirit. It's not an attitude of wisdom
or a thirst for wisdom. It's the Holy Spirit. Now listen.
John 16, verse 13. How be it when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come? He will guide you into all truth,
wisdom. When the Spirit of wisdom, the
Spirit of truth, when He has come, when the Holy Spirit comes,
He's going to guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak
of Himself. He didn't invent the truth. It's
the truth of God that He brings. It's not of Himself. It's of
God. See that? Sometimes we say the
Holy Spirit is not going to talk about Himself. Well, He doesn't
do that either. But it's like the Messiah said,
the words that I speak are not my words, they're God's words.
I'm the ambassador, I'm the messenger of the covenant, I'm the prophet
sent of Him to declare what He said. And the Holy Spirit is
God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit in His office as Comforter, and teacher, does
not say what he thinks you ought to hear, he says what the Father
says you're supposed to hear. You understand that? That's what
it is. He'll not speak of himself. He'll not speak about himself.
He'll not speak of himself. But listen. But whatsoever he
shall hear, where to hear it? In the councils of eternity,
before the throne of the Father. That shall he speak, and he'll
show you things to come." That's not talking about advents and
events, prophetical things at the coming of Christ. That's
things to come, a new heaven and a new earth, and redemption
and justification and all these things we have in Christ. He'll,
listen, he'll glorify me. He'll receive of mine and show
it to you, the things of Christ, who he is, what he did. Why he
did it? Where he is now? He's going to
take the things of mine and show them to you. Kingdom truth. And
all things that the Father hath are mine. And therefore
said I, he'll take of mine. The Father made the Son, our
surety. The Holy Spirit's going to teach
you that. The Father made the Son, the
Christ, the anointed, the prophet, priest, and king. The Holy Spirit
is going to teach you that. The Father pictured the Son's
work, not only in prophetical prophecies, but in promises,
but in pictures and types. The Passover lamb, the blazing
serpent lifted up, the manna from heaven, the smitten rock. Those are all pictures of Christ.
The Holy Spirit will teach you that. The Father sent the Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them, made under
the law, and He kept the law perfectly and imputed to us a
righteousness. The Old Testament is going to
teach you that. The Son was crucified to substitute the sin offering,
the atonement, shed His blood as the great high priest. He
took not the blood of animals into a holy place, but His own
blood into heaven itself to make an atonement for you. Holy Spirit's
going to teach you that. The Son was buried and rose again
victorious over sin, death, the grave. That's yours in Him. He's
going to teach you that. The Son ascended to the right
hand of the Father where He sits, having finished His work. And
He intercedes for you by His presence. He's going to teach
you that. He's going to teach you the mysteries of the grace
of God. Oh, look at our text again, that
the garden of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father, give you
the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of wisdom and revelation. The revelation. These things aren't learned by what we call education, they're
learned by revelation. Let me read that to you in 1
Corinthians 2. Listen to this. 1 Corinthians
2. 2nd chapter of 1 Corinthians,
verse 9. It's written, I hath not seen. This is written in Isaiah, Old
Testament. I hath not seen, ear hath not
heard. See, that's education. The teacher
gets up to the board put something on the board, your eye sees it.
The teacher explains what he wrote, and your ear hears it.
And your mind and heart understand it. Two apples plus two apples
is four apples. Understand the world is not flat,
it's round. The sun rises in the east and
sets in the west. I love that. All these things
are written. You see it, you hear it, you
understand it. But no natural eye has seen near her, her heart
understood, listen, the things God has prepared for them that
love him. That's a mystery. Natural, I don't see it in here,
because it's not natural, it's spiritual. But God hath revealed unto us by his Spirit. That's what Paul is praying for
this church, that God give them the spirit of understanding and
wisdom and revelation to the acknowledgment
of Christ. That's right, read on. God hath
revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. What man knoweth the
things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? So if
you want to know what's in a man, he'll have to tell you. Or he
don't. Even so, the things of God knoweth
no man. And if you know them, he'll have
to tell you. But the Spirit of God, he'll have to reveal them. Now, we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that
we may know the things that are freely given to us of God. Do
you know how many times the word mystery is used in reference
to the work of Christ in the New Testament? Let me show you
just a few. Turn back to the text, Ephesians
1. Ephesians 1, verse 7. through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure
which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the
fulness of time he might gather together in one all things in
Christ both which are in heaven, which are on earth, in whom also
we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will." The mystery of his will, his sovereign will
and purpose. And a fellow says, I don't believe
in that predestination election. No, I know you don't. You can't. God didn't reveal it to you. That's what it says here. He
made known unto us the mystery of his will. The people that
don't believe it, he hadn't made known unto them the mystery of
his will. It's a mystery. That's right. It's not that they don't have
it. They never will have it unless he reveals the mystery of his
will. Isn't that right? You'll never know if I don't
tell you what I'm thinking. Now, you can surmise and think
you know what I'm thinking. Oh, I know him. No, you don't. I know God. No, you don't, not
unless he reveals himself to you. John said, The Son of God hath
come and given us an understanding that we may know him that is
true. This is the true God. This is
eternal life. And he has come and given us
a revelation by his Spirit of his will. Let me show you another
one, Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 talks about marriage,
a husband and wife, tells the husband to love his wife as Christ
loved the church, the wife to be submissive to her husband
as the church is to Christ. In verse 31, For this cause shall
a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife,
and they too shall be one flesh. Now, this is a great mystery.
But I'm not talking about earthly marriage. I'm talking about Christ
and the Church. That's the mystery. There's no
mystery to your marriage. That's natural. Anybody can see that. But this
thing of Christ loving an unworthy bond, Christ actually choosing
Harlot to be his bond, and loving her from the foundation of the
world, and actually coming and enabling
her to love him who hated him. That's right, we hated God, and
now we love him. to the point where that person
would give up anything for his relationship to Christ. Joined
together forever. I'm talking about a mystery.
Everybody's got religion. Religion is a common emotion. Religion is nothing new. Everybody's
got some kind of religion, even the hottentots. But faith is
something else. The vital union with Christ forever,
both ways, is a mystery. I'll show you another
one, Colossians 1. And this is why he prayed for
that church. I pray God will give you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation that you may acknowledge him. Colossians 1, listen, verse
25. whereof I made a minister, according
to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill
the word of God, to fully preach the word of God, even the mystery
which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made
manifest." To whom? His saints. Nobody else. to whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among you Gentiles,
you pagans, you hot-and-tots, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's a mystery. Don't be intimidated by these
religious hucksters and know-it-alls. God hid these things from the
wise and prudent and reveals it to babes. Even so, Father,
Christ said, it seemed good in your sight. They're ignorant. The religious world is ignorant. They don't know the mystery of
his will, his sovereign will. They don't know the mystery.
of his church and the union of Christ and his bride. They don't
know the mystery. Christ in you. That's the hope
of glory. Not you in the fellowship, but
him in you. Not you in the church, him in
you. If he's in you, you'll be in
the fellowship. Here's another one. Listen. 1 Timothy chapter
3. Mysteries. Anybody can understand
what you're saying. With their heads they can, but
how salvation is faced is not a head issue, it's a heart issue. 1 Timothy 1, or 3, verse 16,
listen, and without controversy, without debate, grave is the
mystery of godliness, the mystery of godliness. God
was manifest in the flesh. God, literally, actually, God,
the eternal creator, was manifested in the flesh, made of a woman,
the God-man. God was justified in the Spirit,
vindicated in all that He said by His Spirit. God will be vindicated. Let God be God and every man
a liar. Let God be true. Every man alive. That's right. I think not what
you think. My thoughts are not your thoughts.
Justified. Listen. Scene of the angels,
ministered to by the angels. It's His angels. Preached to
the Gentiles. Actually preached to the Gentiles.
God in human flesh and salvation preached to you and me. Aliens,
strangers to the covenant. and listened and believed on
in the world. That's a mystery. You mean that man on the cross, that Jew crucified between two
thieves outside the city wall, that man hanging there and dying
such a lonely ignominious horrible, ugly death. That man against
whom everybody turned, despised, rejected, even the heavens were
darkened and God turned His back. That man whose visage was so
marred more than any human being, that weakling, He's my Savior. He's my God. He's my hope of life. He's my substitute. He's my prophet,
priest, and king. My God. I don't believe that. I do. And that's a mystery, that
I should believe that. Nobody but a Christian or a fool
would believe that. Man be a fool to believe that
apart from revelation? Wasn't it? It was apart from
the word. That's the reason the preaching
of the cross is foolishness to them that perish. I believe it. And that's why he said that's
a mystery. He gave me that faith because he revealed that person
to me. The thief on the cross was the only one who recognized
him. Only one. He said, You're not going to
stay dead. You're coming into a kingdom.
When you come into your kingdom, would you remember me? That's revelation. I'll give you one more. 1 Corinthians
15. Mysteries. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51, Behold,
I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. Some
of us are going to die. If Christ tarries, all of us
are going to die. But it may be some here this morning who
won't die physically. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. in a moment, in the batting of
an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet will sound, and the
dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. This corruptible must put on
incorruption, must. And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
put on incorruption, this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought fast to sin. Death is followed up in
victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, but
thanks be unto God which already has given us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul prayed for this church,
and I'll close with this, that God the Father would give them
the Holy Spirit of wisdom and a revelation to the acknowledgment
of him. And let me read this right here.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may
know what is the hope of his calling and what is the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is exceeding
greatness of his power. I preached the other night in
Jacksonville on that text in Isaiah 45, which says they pray
to a God who cannot save. He wants to, but he can't. He
wills to, but men won't let him. This generation is praying to
a God who cannot save. He doesn't have the power. He
doesn't have the authority. He wants his people to be willing,
but he doesn't have the power to make them willing. Isn't that
sad? He can't save. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
went up there with his blood as the great high priest to put
on the mercy seat of glory himself, The Father said, I'm sorry, I
can't accept it until they do. I'm sorry. I know you died and
shed your blood, but it's powerless until they let you save them. That's a God that cannot save. And I'm not going to pray to
that kind of God. I'm not going to preach him or pray to him
or respect him. But, he said, I am a just God
and a Savior. Look unto Me, all the ends of
the earth, and be ye saved. I'm God. I can save. I'm a just God and I'm a Savior.
I can save. Now you look to Me, for I'm God. There's nothing else. I want you to know, He said,
verse 19, the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe
according to the working of his mighty power. All hail the power
of Jesus' name, that angels prostrate fall, bring forth a royal diadem,
and let's crown him Lord of all.