that the day of Christ is at
hand, that the return, the second coming of Christ was upon them. And that even, he said, as by
letter as from us, they even forged some letters from Paul
indicating that the return of Christ was at hand. But then
Paul sets forth some more disturbing things. He said in verse three,
let no man deceive you by any means For that day shall not
come except there come a falling away, and that's disturbing.
Falling away from the gospel, a falling away from grace, a
falling away from truth. Then he says there's a man of
sin going to be revealed, a son of perdition, a powerful opponent
of Christ, antichrist. Then down here in verse 7 he
said, in fact that mystery of iniquity is already at work.
depressing, disturbing things, enough to shake the people, trouble
them. Already at work, already in our
day at work, the mystery of iniquity. And only the Holy Spirit restrains
him. And then down here in verse 9,
he says that false teachers are going to deceive many people.
Antichrist, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan,
with power and signs and lying wonders, our Lord said, would
deceive the elect if it were possible. They'd show great and
wonderful signs and marvelous things and if it were possible,
they'd deceive the elect. And they will deceive many. Look
at verse 10. Oh, deceivableness of unrighteousness. When you hear preaching like
this, it's disturbing. It's troubling. Because you look
at it and listen to it and you think, will I fall away? Will
I depart from the faith? Will I be like Demas? Will I
be like those of whom John spake when he said they went out from
us? He said in verse 10, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in them that perish, because they receive not important word
there, the love of the truth. Not just the truth. Not just the truth, but the love
of it, that they might be saved. And here's another disturbing
verse in verse 11, For this cause God will send them strong delusions,
permit them to be taken up with strong, powerful delusions, deceptions, that they should believe a lie. that they all might be damned
who believe not the truth, who have pleasure in unrighteousness. Pastor, you're right. That's
depressing. That's disturbing. That's enough
to shake a person in his mind and trouble him in his soul and
fill him with sadness for our kinsmen according to the flesh.
In talking about his brethren, according to the flesh, he said,
I have great sorrow, continual sorrow, heaviness of heart for
my loved ones and friends who do not know the gospel. There is scarcely a person in
this building that does not have close, close beloved friends
and family who are included in this situation. And it is disturbing, it's heartbreaking. Well, do you not have a good
word? Yes, there's a good word in verse 13, a three-letter word,
but. But. We weep over false teachers
who deceive people, but. We weep over the falling away
of religious people, but. We weep over those who will not
receive the love of Christ, but. We weep over the deception and
delusion and darkness, even some of its sin permitted in the providence
of God for His glory, who hath prepared even the wicked
for the day of evil. The scarcity of that day goes
by that we don't think of someone whom we know and love who does
not know Christ, who does not believe the Gospel. And our hearts
are so heavy. But here in verse 13, we come
out of the darkness into the light, but... We come out of the rain into
the sunshine, but... All these things are true, but...
We come out of tears into rejoicing, but amid all of this sorrow and
heartache and deception and confusion, but we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you. For you. For you. Thank God for you. I think about
Brother Tom Harding's message the other night from Psalm 45. I believe it was last Wednesday
night. Psalm 45 verse 1, David said,
My heart is bubbling over. That's what that word is. Indicting
a good matter. My heart is bubbling over. I speak of the things which I
have made concerning or touching my King, I've got some things
to be happy about. There's plenty to trouble me
and make me weep and break my heart, but there's plenty to
make me bubble over with joy and gladness. But, but, I'm 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. God has put a difference between
you and the deceived. God has made a difference between
you and the unbeliever. God has made a difference between
you and this world. Over here in Exodus 11, a passage
of Scripture that ought to be marked strongly in your Bibles
and mine. In Exodus 11 verse 7, God talked
about verse 6 and 7, He talked about coming through the land
of Egypt and smiting the firstborn in every home. And He says in
verse 6, Exodus 11 verse 6, And there shall be a great cry throughout
all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall
be like it any more. But, there it is again, but,
against any of the children of Israel, any of the children of
God, any of the children of his covenant, any of the children
of his love, shall not even a dog move his tongue. against man or beast, that you
may know how that the Lord, the Lord doth put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. He made a difference. I call
them the untouchables. The untouchables. Oh yeah, many shall depart from
the faith the mystery of iniquity, the antichrist, the son of perdition,
working with deceivableness of unrighteousness shall deceive
many and God shall give them strong delusions that they should
believe a lie and be damned because they believe not the truth nor
love the truth, but I thank God for you. And then in these next
few verses I found Ten tremendous themes or facts concerning these
people. The untouchables. The elect. The sheep of His pasture. The
family of God. God put a difference. God made
a difference between you and them. You have nothing to fear. God has put a difference between
you and them. He made a difference. And here's
the first thing about them. Verse number 13. Paul says in
verse 13, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. God loves you. God loves
you. Now my friends, we're living
in a day when there's a lot said about universal love. The universal
love of God. But people who talk about the
love of God as if it were universal, impersonal, ineffectual, universal
sympathy is what it is, universal well-wishing, they just do not
understand the love of God. Did you know that? They do not
understand the love of God. It's like that verse in Psalms
which says, you thought I was altogether such a one as yourself. And we're talking about the kind
of love that we as human beings understand and experience. But God's love is infinite. And those whom God loves, now
listen to me, those whom God loves, He loves as He loves Jesus
Christ. Did you know that? I show you
that in John 17. Now turn over that. People who
talk about a universal love, an impersonal, ineffectual love,
a sympathetic pity, that's not the love of God. He said in John
17 verse 23, now look at this, underscore it, Christ is praying
for His people. He said, I don't pray for the
world, I pray for them which thou hast given me. He says in verse 23, I in them
and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one and that
the world may know thou hast sent me and hast loved them as
you love me. That's infinite. God's not going to send anybody
to hell whom He loves. God is not going to neglect one
person whom He loves. God is not going to smite one
person whom He loves. His love is infinite. His love
is everlasting. And His love for His elect is
the same love by which He loves His Son. And that love is in Christ. If
you look at Romans chapter 8 a moment, One of the men was preaching
here this week and he said, it's blasphemy to say God is
alive. And he's right. God's not alive. God is life. There's a difference. God is life. You don't say God
is alive as if He meets some criteria of life. He is life. And I hear preachers say, well,
our God is a God of love. He ain't no such thing. He is
love. There's no love apart from Him.
And honest, real, infinite, everlasting love is the very person of God. You say you're splitting hairs.
Am I kidding? I'm not splitting hairs. I'm
telling the truth. God is love. And people who talk about the
love of God being Universal and failing. And people perishing
whom He loves, they don't know anything about the love of God. James Thompson used to sing an
old country song, I thought I'd been loved and I thought I'd
been kissed, but that's before I met you. And that's our Lord. I thought
I'd been loved, but that's before I met Him. Now I know what love
is. Isn't that right? Song of Solomon,
he kissed me with the kisses of his mouth. I thought I'd been
loved. Religion teaches a form of love,
but it's not love. It's not love. A religion teaches
a form of affection between the church and Christ, but it's not
affection. I thought I'd been loved. I thought
I'd been kissed. I thought I'd met someone. Not till I met him. He's altogether
lovely. Look at this Romans 8. I've got
to hurry. In verse 38 he said, I'm persuaded. Romans 8, 38, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, if there's anybody
left out, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God. That's the love I'm talking about,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And outside of Christ,
He's a consuming fire. Outside of Christ, nothing but
wrath. So, when we, back to 2 Thessalonians
2, we talk about all of this that shakes the mind and troubles
the soul. Let it not shake your mind or
trouble your soul. He loves you. And secondly, He
chose you. God had chosen you, verse 13. He loved you and He chose you. Let's just consider this a moment. It says, God hath from the beginning,
eternally, He loved you before you loved
Him. He said, I've drawn you with an everlasting love. I have
loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn you." His love is everlasting from the beginning
in Christ. God has chosen you to salvation,
to life eternal, to live in glory. He declares the end from the
beginning. Through sanctification of the
Spirit, His Spirit will quicken you and sanctify you and set
you apart and make you one of His own. He will. And belief
of the truth. God will not only reveal the
truth, He'll give you the faith to believe. That's right. He'll not only reveal the truth
to you, but He'll give you the faith to believe. And the repentance. The goodness of God leads you
to repentance. All I need is in Him. It's by
His grace. God loves you. He chose you. One of the hymn writers said,
not for good in me, wakened up from wrath to flee, hidden in
the Savior's side by His Spirit sanctified. God loved you and
He chose you. Now look at the next verse, verse
14, number 3, and He called you. You want me to tell you what
this means? He called you. He called you. He called you. Well, I could explain it theologically
back when I heard the gospel for the first time and began
to do some serious studying about the gospel of God's grace. I
studied some of the old writers and they talked about a general
and effectual call. So this call is the effectual
call. There's the general call extended
to all men. The call of nature. The heavens
declare the glory of God. God is known by the things that
are made. There's the call of conscience. There's a law written
in every man's heart, so his conscience bearing witness, excusing
or accusing him. There's the call of preaching.
That's the general call. That's like an old hen going
through the barnyard clucking. But when the hawk swoops overhead,
she gives an effectual call. Her chickens recognize it, and
they all run, get under her wing. And that's what the old timers
used to talk about. There's the call. There's the
call of conscience, and the call of providence, and the call of
nature, and the call of love, and the call of preaching. But
then there's the call of the spirit. That's effectual. Or I could explain it in doctrine. Whom He foreknew, He predestinated
to be conformed to the image of His Son. Whom He predestinated,
He called. Whom He called, He justified.
Whom He justified, He glorified. Or I could explain it in a picture,
a type. Abraham, God said, get thee out
of thy father's house. That's a call. Matthew, follow me. That's a call. But here it is
by experience. You, sitting right out here.
He loved you. And He chose you. Then one day,
by His gospel, He called you. He called you. That's what it
says. He called you by our gospel. Why did Paul call it his? Because
he is saved by it. Because he was obsessed with
it. Because he was separated unto it. And because it was all
he preached, our gospel, but it's his gospel. It's his gospel. And he called you by our gospel.
Called you. Oh, you'd read and you'd heard
with the natural ears. You'd heard the Bible read, you'd
heard the Bible preached. But one day, the preacher didn't
call you, he did. One day the preacher wasn't preaching
to you, he was. One day he called you. He called
you. Everybody whom he loves, everybody
whom he chooses, he'll call. And Paul in 1 Thessalonians,
turn back there to chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse
4. He says to this church of Thessalonica,
he said, I know, beloved, I know, brethren, beloved, your election
of God, because our gospel came unto you, not in word only, but
in power. In power. You remember when it
did? I tell the story here about my
beloved friend, Brother Ed Ballard, and I know he won't mind if I
tell it again, but he's raised in a church, in religion, And one day, about 20 years ago
or a little more, 25 years ago, he realized he wasn't hearing
anything. Isn't that right, Ed? He wasn't
hearing anything. So he quit going to church. And his pastor
found him one day and said, you haven't been in church. And Ed
said, I'm not coming back. He said, I don't know what I'm
not hearing. I just know I'm not hearing something.
That's God already at work. I don't know what I'm not hearing,
but I'm not hearing something. And the preacher said, well come
back and give me one more opportunity. This man had been his pastor
for 25 years. So he went back and the fellow,
if I remember Ed, what you told me Craig, he did improve a little,
but it still wasn't there. It just wasn't there. So he quit
again. And Ed Stevens invited him to
come here. Isn't that right? and you came. I can remember
it like it was yesterday, it's been a long time ago, but he'd
sit there and frown and listen to me preach. I knew him, he
ran the golf course out here and we were friends. And I'd
shake hands back at the door and he'd come by and I'd say,
well, Ed, come back, I might. One day he didn't hear me, he
heard him. God who loved him and chose him,
one day he called him. I preached that day. I preached
the same message I've been preaching. Same gospel I've been preaching
45 years now. I shook hands with that door
right there. Ed came out. He had a different look on his
face. He had different countenance. I knew something had happened.
I shook hands with him. I said, well, come back. He said,
I'll be back tonight. I'll be back Wednesday. I see
what you're saying. I see. That's what I'm talking
about. He'll call you. Until He does,
all we can do is pray for you. All we can do is preach to you.
All we can do is set it forth just like we're doing. I'd love
to see God move in mighty power, The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and I hear the sound, and I see the results, but I don't know
where it comes from, and I don't know where it's going. I don't
know. I don't know. But I do know He's
got some people He loves, and He's got some people He chose,
and He's got some people He's going to call. And I'm going
to keep preaching this gospel, praying He'll call some more.
Like Bob prayed, I pray He'll call my Children, grandchildren,
loved ones, don't you? Your loved ones, your children,
He'll call them. But I'm not going to bring them
down here and talk them into a profession. Because it wouldn't
do any good, would it? I tell you, give them a false
refuge. He'll call them. I say to you young people, seek
the Lord, seek the Lord. Call upon Him while He's near.
He calls you by our gospel, verse 14, to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. All right, the fourth thing,
verse 15. And He taught you. He taught
you. It says here, therefore, brethren,
you stand fast now and you hold the traditions which you've been
taught. Hold fast your profession. Hold fast the beginning of your
confidence, step fast to the end. The Lord teaches His sheep. He
teaches His sheep. He taught you the truth. The
truth about Himself and the truth about ourselves and the truth
about redemption in Him. No man can come to me, Christ
said, except my Father draw him, and they shall all be taught
of God. And he that hath heard of the
Father, and learned of me, he'll come to me." God teaches them. Well, how does He teach them?
Listen, right here, let's go two words here. You have been
taught whether by word of mouth, or by epistle. I believe there
are two ways that God teaches His sheep. One is by the word
of mouth, preaching. God has been pleased by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Preaching, the word
of mouth. And then the written word, read,
the epistles, the letters that Paul has written. That's how
God teaches. He teaches by the preaching And
He teaches by your study in the Scriptures. That's how He'll
teach you. And then in verse 16, the fourth
truth, and I've got to move on to the fifth truth. Alright.
And read this carefully. Let's look at this. Now our Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. Himself. Where have you read
that before? Turn to Hebrews 1. The Lord Jesus
Christ Himself. You know, let's look at this,
Hebrews 1. Alright, God who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. Who is this? Whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom he made the worlds, who being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,
and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had
by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of God."
That's who we're talking about, himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself! Himself! And God, even our Father,
the One who loved us and chose us and called us, has given to
us the free gift of His love. Given to us. He didn't sell it
to you. Didn't loan it to you. Gave it to you. What? Everlasting
solace. Consolation. Comfort. Assurance. And a good hope. By grace, through grace, it's
a good hope. It's a blessed hope. It's a living
hope. It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. It's the gift of God. He has
given us a good hope. He loved us, chose us, called
us. He taught us. And he gave us a good hope. We
got a good hope. It's a person. Not a profession. Not an old experience. It's Christ. Christ in you. That's the hope
of glory. And then look at verse 17. Here's
number 6. Comfort your hearts. God will
comfort you. What is the greatest single source
of comfort for a believer? The greatest single source of
comfort for a believer. God tells us to comfort His people. How and with what? Isaiah 40. Turn over there. Isaiah 40 tells
you. Isaiah chapter 40. It begins
this way. Listen to it. Comfort ye. Comfort ye. Don't skin them. Comfort them. A fellow told me
years ago, he said, before you go in the pulpit, read Isaiah
40 verse 1. A fellow standing next to me
said, well, I'll just print it and put it on my desk. He said,
no, read it. Comfort. Somebody said you can
shear the sheep many times, you can't skin them but one time.
You kill them. Comfort my people. They're my
people. Don't mistreat them. They're
mistreated enough, our children, in the world. Comfort them. Comfort
them. Comfort them. God, even Himself,
and the Father, who loved us, us, chief of sinners, less than
the least of all the saints, wretched man that I am, gives
us an everlasting solace, comfort, and a good hope. Comfort your
hearts. Well, how? Read on. Comfort my
people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Cry unto her. What am I going
to cry? Tell her the war is over. Her warfare is accomplished. Her enemy is defeated. Satan,
the curse of the law of sin, is defeated by your champion,
the Lord Jesus Christ. It's finished. The war is over. The victory is won. Christ reigns. The kingdom is settled. Tell
them that. Tell them her iniquity is pardoned. All her sins are pardoned, put
away. In Christ there is no sin. Right
now, before God's throne, under my name and your name, there
is not one sin. God said, I'll remember them
no more. No more. Why should I keep bringing
them up? Why should I keep reminding you of them? He said, forget
them. Pardon. And listen. And she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. Christ didn't barely redeem
His people. He abundantly redeemed them. He didn't just barely pay the
price. He paid it in full. A full cup running over. Paid
for it. Ah yes, comfort them. Let one
other scripture. Turn to Colossians. Look at this,
Colossians 2. I just looked this one up this
evening before I came over about this assurance and comfort. In
Colossians 2 verse 2. Now listen. How do you comfort?
How do you comfort believers? You comfort them with Christ,
with the Gospel, with the Atonement, with the Satisfaction, with the
Salvation by His Blood and Righteousness. Listen, Colossians 2, verse 2. That their hearts might be comforted,
being knit together in love, and under all riches of the full
assurance of understanding. What is this understanding? What
is this assurance? It's acknowledgement of the mystery
of God, of the Father and of Christ. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself. That's the mystery? That's the
consolation? The mystery of Christ, without
controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifested
in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen in the angels, preached
to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, our Savior. There's
our comfort. Isn't that right? When a believer gets in trouble,
don't put your arm around him and tell him what a good Christian
he's been. Don't put your arm around and
tell him how important he is to the church and you couldn't
get along without him. He'll know you're lying. And he knows
better. When a Christian is hurting and
in pain and trouble, don't go to him and say, well, now, you're
God's child and God's not in this. He wouldn't let this happen.
This is the old devil. That's who this is. Now, come
on now. When God's children are in trouble, go and tell them
about Christ again and the hope we have in Him. Your sins are
pardoned. Your sins are put away. You're
forgiven. You're a child of God. Be of
good courage. That's right. That's where you're
comfortable. Look at the text again, 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 17. You comfort your heart and He
establishes you. Establish you. Establish you. What does that word establish
mean? Here's what it means. The word establish. It means,
now listen, to confirm. To set fast. Concrete establishes. It sets. You pour it. You fellas,
some of you poured a lot of concrete and you wait a little while and
she sets. Ain't no moving it. It sets. God establish you. Now listen, here's another meaning.
Same meaning, but another shot at it. It's to steadfastly set
in a certain direction. God established you. He loved
you. He chose you. He called you.
He taught you. He gave you comfort and grace
and a hope and established you. Now people who are always changing
doctrine and direction, they're not of God. That's right. Actually, let me
tell you something. I told you this in a message
one time. I learned the gospel in 1950. And I've grown in understanding
that gospel. Understanding that person, I
hope, I believe. and understanding of His Word.
But I'm preaching the same things now that I preached the first
week after I heard the gospel. It's all in Christ. I've learned
more about His sovereignty, but He's still sovereign. I've learned
more about our fall, but we were falling then. Dead's dead. Graveyard
dead. I just learned more about how
graveyard it is. God's election, covenant, mercies
in Christ. I just learned more about it,
but it's the same covenant. Christ's assurity, his effectual
sacrifice, the Holy Spirit's call, the creation, all these,
we learn more about them, but we don't change our direction. Watch out for people who are
back. He establishes us. He establishes us in what? Watch
it now. In word, every good word, doctrine,
truth, Christ. That's right. Let me read you
a scripture. Don't turn to it. Let me do it real quickly. Hebrews
13 verse 9. Listen to this. Be not carried
away with different and strange doctrines, It's a good thing
that the heart be established with grace. Grace. A fellow said one time
not long ago, I no longer believe in the particular redemption.
He never did. You don't move from that place.
I no longer believe in the sovereignty of God and salvation. You never
did. If he ever, if he ever opens his head and his heart and spirit
and bows and gives you an understanding and a view of his glory in Christ,
you're set! You're established. You're steadfastly
set in one direction toward him. I guarantee you that. I promise
you in your words and in your works. Don't you be weary in
well-doing, and you're not going to. Because it didn't depend
on you when you started, and it don't now. Do not be weary in well-doing.
It never has, Bob, depended on me. It depends on Him. He never has promised that He'd
explain His matters to me. And he's not going to start now.
You just keep preaching. You keep giving. You keep praying. You keep seeking. You keep honoring
Him. You keep forgiving. You keep
helping. You keep on. It's all in His
hands. Man proposes and God disposes. That's right. That's right. He established it in word and
work. And you're not going to move. Alright, I've got to move quicker.
Listen. Finally, brethren, verse 1, chapter 3, pray for us that
the word of the Lord may have free course, may run well. You
can write that in there. The gospel. Brother Barnard loved
that. He used to talk about it. He went to a meeting and the
gospel ran well. It ran well. And be glorified
even as it is with you that we may be delivered. from unreasonable and wicked
men. For all men have not faith, they
are not real. But the Lord is faithful, who
shall establish you and keep you from the evil one." There
are two factions mentioned here. Remember chapter 2 when he talked
about the man of sin? and the devil, and the antichrist,
and the mystery of iniquity, and these false brethren. Well,
He says, you whom He loved, and chose, and taught, and called,
He's going to deliver you from these unreasonable men, and keep
you from the evil one. That's right. You say, well,
I wonder if I'll be drawn away by this false... No. One of Satan will someday
overcome me. No, sir. No, sir. He'll keep
you from the evil one. Yes, in John 17, he prayed about
that. Alright, here's the next one
here. Number nine of the great themes. It says, and I have confidence. I have confidence in the Lord.
In the Lord touching you, in regard to you, or the Lord touching
you. The Lord touching you. Our confidence. Our confidence is not in you.
And it's not in me. We have no confidence in the
flesh. It's not in our strength, or our grace, or our wisdom,
or our behavior, or our dedication. But we know Brother Mahan, Brother
Weimer, and Brother Faulkner, and Brother Scott, those men
will stand true only by the grace of God. Old Scott said one time preaching
here, he said, you listen to me tonight, I may rob a bank
tomorrow. Only by the grace of God. I tried it and I'm joking,
but that's the truth. I have confidence in Him that
He'll touch you. I looked up that touching you,
and it says to strengthen, to reach unto. to reach unto. Lay His hand on you. Lay His
hand on you. Mike sings a song, when we have
exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed
ere the day is had done, when we reach the end of our common
resources, our Father's full giving has only begun. He'll
touch you. Because His love has no limit,
His grace has no measure, His power has no boundary known unto
men. For out of His infinite riches
in our Savior, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth, and giveth,
and giveth, and giveth, and giveth. Never stop. He'll touch you. I can't make it. No, I know it.
But He'll touch you. That's right. He'll touch you. That you both do and will do
the things we command you. You do and you will do. I'm not
troubled about your ever departing from God or from the faith. And
listen, and the Lord, here's the last one, the Lord directs
your hearts. Here are two things I wish you
to see. Before I close, the Lord direct your hearts into the love
of God and into the patient waiting for Christ. And here's what our
beloved Dr. John Gill said. Here's a summary
of what's necessary for believers. Heart love for Christ and a patient
waiting for His coming.