Be Strong In God's Grace

Q: What does the Bible say about being strong in grace?

The Bible encourages believers to be strong in grace, particularly in Christ Jesus, which involves being rooted in the gospel. In 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul urges Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This strength in grace encompasses both an inward and an outward aspect. Inwardly, it requires a deep and personal understanding of the grace of God, which cannot be merely intellectual but must be something that resides in one's heart. The grace of God must have a transformative impact on one's life, leading to a bold, unwavering proclamation of the gospel. Outwardly, being strong in grace manifests in actions that reflect that inner strength, as believers live out their faith in a way that aligns with God's will and purpose.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of God's love is true?

God's love is demonstrated through His actions, particularly in sending His Son as a propitiation for our sins. The doctrine of God's love is affirmed in Scripture, particularly in 1 John 4, where it states that love is of God and that God's love is manifested in sending His only Son into the world (1 John 4:9). This infallible love is not based on human merit but is a divine initiative that transforms those who experience it. The assurance that one knows God is tied to the ability to love others, as genuine love originates from divine grace. Hence, those who truly understand and have experienced God's love are compelled to express that love in their lives, verifying the truth of this doctrine.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to love one another?

Loving one another is essential for Christians as it reflects the nature of God and is fundamental to being His disciples. The importance of love among Christians cannot be overstated. In John 13:34-35, Jesus commands His disciples to love one another, stating that their love will be the distinguishing mark of true discipleship. This love is not merely an emotion but is an active, manifesting grace that stems from the heart transformed by the gospel. When believers express love through forgiveness and kindness, they demonstrate the grace they've received from God. Envy, jealousy, and strife are contrary to the spirit of love and hinder God's blessing upon a community. Thus, love becomes both a means of unity and a powerful testimony to the world of the reality of Christ's work in their lives.

Q: How can we be assured of our perseverance as Christians?

Our perseverance is guaranteed by God's faithfulness and the effectual call of the Gospel. The assurance of a believer's perseverance is rooted in the faithfulness of God. Philippians 1:6 affirms that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. This assurance is further solidified by the doctrine of election; believers are chosen by God and His calling is effectual, ensuring that none of His elect will be lost. Jesus Himself declared in John 10:28 that His sheep will never perish, and that no one will snatch them out of His hand. Therefore, believers can have confidence in their perseverance, not based on their own strength or merit, but solely on God's sovereign grace and steadfast promises.

The title of the message is,
Be Strong. Be strong in grace. Now, Paul starts off here in
verse 1 of chapter 2 with these words, Thou therefore my son,
my son. As I told you this morning, Timothy
was not the natural son of Paul. But Timothy learned the gospel
from Paul. And there was between these two
men a great love, like the love between Jonathan and David. These two servants of Christ
loved one another. Paul called him, my son, because
of his affection for him, because he learned the gospel under his
ministry, and because he was a young man. Oh, what great love between a
father and a son. I was looking at my notes and
I glanced down and saw a father here in the congregation slip
his arm around his son. And I thought, that's what Paul's
talking about here. How much a father loves a son
and how much a son loves a father. It's impossible to stress this
point too strongly. We are expecting to be used of
God and to be blessed of God. Our Lord gave this commandment.
He said, a new commandment I give you, that you love one another,
that you love one another as I've loved you. By this shall
all men know you, my disciples, if you love one another. We cannot
hope to be used of God or blessed of God till we love one another.
That's just a fact. There can be in the ministry
of the gospel no place for envy, no place for jealousy, no place
for strife. God will not bless that. And
where it's found, God's not found. That's so. I told a man that
on the phone this past week. He said, you indicate to me that
you're not quite sure of my relationship with God. And I said, the reason
I indicate that is because you're harboring hatred in your heart,
and that's an impossibility. You cannot hate me and love God. You know what Scripture says?
Turn to 1 John chapter 4. It doesn't matter who it is,
if it's me, if it's you, whomever. You cannot hate and love God.
It's an impossibility. And this love Paul's expressing
for Timothy, my son, my son, my son, oh, how he loved that
young man. They were not competitors. They
were brothers. In 1 John 4, listen to the Scripture,
verse 7, Brethren, beloved, let us love one another. For love
is of God. And everyone that loveth is born
of God. That's why we love, not because
it's in us or of us, it's given to us. The love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. We can't help but
love each other. There cannot be envy and jealous
in strife among those who love each other. And knoweth God, he that loveth
is born of God, that's why he loves, and he knows God. He that
loveth not does not know God. This man said to me, well, that's
just what you're saying. I said, I didn't say that, he
said it. That's not my words. Those aren't my words. Those
are his words. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. It doesn't matter if he's a preacher
or a deacon or an elder or a Sunday school teacher, missionary, evangelist,
old faithful, whatever. He does not know God. Why? Because God is love. And in this
was manifest the love of God toward us because God sent His
only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Now, here's the explanation.
Herein is love. Not that we loved God. It didn't
start with us. Salvation didn't start with us.
It all began with God. Not that we loved God. He loved
us. and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved,
God so loved us as we were. God committed His love toward
us, and then why were we yet sinners? I know, but He's such
a sinner. You were too, and I was too, but He loved me. God so loved us, we ought to.
We not only ought to, we will. We will. And I'll tell you this,
if we don't, God's not going to bless. He just cannot use
a competitive, hypocritical, vengeful, envious, jealous spirit
seeking vain glory. He will not use anybody unless
he shows some love for Christ and love for people. In Colossians
chapter 3, listen to this, Colossians the third chapter, verse 14 and
15. And above all these things, you
see, this business of believing God, this thing of walking with
God, is not an organization. It's not a worldly business venture. It's a life. That's what it is. It's a life of God. And he says
here in verse, let's read verse 13, Colossians 3, "...forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel
against any, even as Christ forgave you, you do the same." He said
in Ephesians, "...be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving
one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, forgave you."
That's the Spirit of Christ. Even so do you. Now verse 4,
14, and above all these things, put on love. Put on the follow
after love. Pursue love. Seek love. Cultivate
love. Put on love. This is the bond
of perfectness. This is the bond. This is what
seals us together. This is what holds us together. Love for Christ. It's that which
holds the living stones in the temple of our God. It's His love
for us, it's our love for Him, and it's our love for one another.
That's the bond, the cement, the bond of perfectness. And if it's not there, it's just
a bunch of stones laying around in a field. It doesn't have any
image of God at all, or any evidence of the handiwork of God All right,
I've got to move on. Thou therefore, my son, my son,
be strong. Paul speaking to young Timothy,
writing from a prison cell, one of his last letters said to this
boy, this young man whom he loved in the faith, be strong, be strong,
be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Being strong in the grace that's
in Christ Jesus, what does it encompass? Well, I'll tell you
two things. Being strong in the grace that's
in Christ Jesus. First of all, it's being strong
inwardly. Inwardly. A man can't tell what
he doesn't know. Now that's just all there is
to it. People ask me, why doesn't this man preach the grace of
God? He doesn't know it. That's why he doesn't preach
it. You can't tell what you don't know. You can't tell what you
haven't experienced. You can't preach what's never
been revealed to your heart. If it's in here, it'll come out.
If it's not in here, it won't come out. A man can't contend
for what he's never believed. A man can't defend what he doesn't
love. If we're going to be strong in
the grace of God, in the gospel of God's grace, the first thing,
God's got to operate on us. I've been preaching the gospel
of God's grace now since 1950. That's 42 years. I have, as Spurgeon
said, wavered one tithe, one tenth, from that place I started
42 years ago. of God's grace in Christ Jesus. Why? I learned it then. It was revealed to me then. It
captured my heart then. It's the thing I know is so. It's the rock God put me on.
I can't do anything else but preach what God showed me. Christ is Christ now and He was
Christ then. Atonement was atonement then.
It's atonement now. Effectual work was effectual
work then. It's effectual work now. God's
got to reveal it to a man's heart, not his head, his heart. I tell you, folks can believe
things up here and not be very strong on them, waver. But it, when God's got your heart,
He's got you. When he's established and planted
his banner ensign in your heart, he sits on the throne. That's
where the throne is right here. This isn't the throne, this is
the throne. The person that occupies my heart has everything I am.
That's right. I told my, one of my sons this
one time, he kept saying back some years ago, Don't do this
now. I can take care of it. I said,
I want to help you. I want to do it. No, don't do
it. You do too much now for me. You know how that is. You know
how boys talk. I said, when you get to be a daddy, you'll understand. When you get to be a daddy. Well,
a few years passed and just a few days ago, or a few weeks ago,
I said to him, you remember what I said way back then? You understand
it now? He said, I got it. I've got it. My children can have this coat
off my back, the watch off my arm, the shoes off my... Is that
right, parents? They got my heart. And I'll tell
you, when the grace of God is enthroned in your heart, you
belong to Him. Lock, stock, and barrel. Hook,
line, and sinker. Joe, that's right. The whole
thing. But it's got to be here. He's got to reveal it to your
heart. He's got to root it and ground it and become of a full
persuasion in here. And I'll tell you what these
teachers of theology are trying to get men to contend for what
they don't believe. You're wasting your time. You
can put out catechisms and put out creeds and put out confessions
of faith, put out anything you want to, put it in the vestibule,
Put it on the shelves of the library, put it in the hands
of the people, but till God puts it in the heart, forget it. They'll have a watered-down theology,
whatever's convenient. The line of least resistance
is the way they go. But if it ever gets in a man's
heart, like a salmon, he'll swim upstream. The rocks and the boulders
and the woods and everything else can encounter him, He's
headed one way. That's to the glory of God. Is
that right, Tom? He takes over in here. And a whole lot of people
have been converted to the doctrines of grace in their heads that
know nothing of the grace of God in their hearts. That's exactly
right. You'll never be strong outwardly
until you're strong inwardly. That's where it starts. But then
it comes outwardly. Be strong, strong in the grace
which is in Christ Jesus. Where is it? It's in Christ Jesus.
Now that's the key. It's not the Senator Dort or
Calvinism as opposed to Pelagianism and Arminianism. Quit using those
words. You're wasting your time. Folks
don't know what they mean anyway. It's grace opposed to works.
It's salvation of the Lord as opposed to salvation by the will
of man. That's the And I don't believe
it because Calvin said it, I believe it because God said it. It's
the grace of God in Christ. The grace of God in Christ. The
grace of God in Christ. And there's no other way in Christ
but grace. Turn to 1 Thessalonians and listen
to Paul here. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. And
I'll tell you why you have so many so-called Calvinists in
the study, and Calvinists in the seminary, and Calvinists
in the coffee shops, and Calvinists in the living room, and Armenians
in the pulpit. It's never got their hearts. Here's where you find out what
a man believes when he stands right here. Right here. And he wouldn't cut it, or curb
it, or cull it, or alloy it, for all the devils in hell, if
he believes it in him. That's right. 1 Thessalonians 2, listen to
Paul here in verse 2. But even after we suffered before
and were shamefully entreated, shamefully, as you know at Philippi, you
know how they treated me, put him in jail, beat him half to
death, We were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel
of God with much contention. Believe it. Bold in it. Is God
sovereign? Preach it. Is he sovereign in
creation, in providence, in salvation, in all things? Then preach it.
Without apology, without compromise, without wordiness. That's what
a lot of preachers do, they use that clever intellectual wordedness
so nobody will know what to say. Paul said don't cover up the
cross with a bunch of words so it becomes of non-effect. Say
cross. Use some one syllable, two syllable
words that common ordinary people understand. Is God sovereign? Preach it. Is man dead in sin? Preach it. Did God elect the
people? Say it. Say it! Say God chose His people, God
elected His people, God Almighty purposed to say it. Say it! Don't
apologize. Like a fellow says, one time
he said, are you preaching what I think you are? Yeah, just exactly
what you think I am. You didn't choose God, He chose
you. It is not that I didn't choose thee, Lord, that could
not be. If thou hast not chosen me, my heart would have refused
thee." Still, is Christ effectual? Is his atonement effectual? Is
it sufficient for all who believe? Preach it! Don't leave any doubt
in anyone's mind that you even suspect that Christ failed on
that cross. Don't leave a doubt in their
mind. If they love it, wonderful. If they don't, that's wonderful
too. Everybody's going to glorify God's mercy or his justice, one
of the two, that they're going to glorify God. Does the Holy Spirit regenerate
his elect? Does he? Does the Holy Spirit
give life to sinners sovereignly? Does the wind blow as it listed?
Huh? That's what our Lord said to
old Nicodemus. He said, Nicodemus, you got to be born again. This
fellow was intellectual. Educated, had the credentials,
was a ruler of the Jews, sat on the Sanhedrin. And Christ
said, you got to be born again. Just like the poor simple maid
down at the well, you got to be born again. How can I be born
again? Can I enter my mother's womb
and be born? That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which
is born of the Spirit of God is spirit. Marvel not that I
said unto thee, you must be born again. The wind bloweth where
it listeth, where it pleases. And you hear the sound thereof,
but you cannot tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. Even
so are those born of the Spirit. He'll beget whom he will. He'll
regenerate whom he will. The Son quickeneth whom he will.
That's just so. Is it so? Say it! That's what's
wrong with churches in the poor. That's what's wrong with churches
in your country. That's what's wrong with the churches in England.
That's what's wrong with a lot of churches everywhere. The pastor
won't say it. He's afraid to. He's afraid he'll
lose support, or lose members, or lose his retirement, or lose
something else, lose his popularity. He's going to lose his soul is
what he's going to lose. What should a profitable man
be gaining in the whole world? Lose his soul. I'm not selling my birthright
for a bowl of beans, even if they're served with caviar. That's right. Shall all God's
sheep persevere? Preach it. Will one of them be
lost? No. Then preach it. Is Christ
the only mediator between God and men? I didn't say between
God and man. That's not what the Bible said.
He's not the mediator between God and man. He's the mediator
between God and men. Not mankind. He didn't die for
mankind. He died for men. He's a mediator
between God and men. His men. Preach it! Old Joseph Hart wrote a hymn.
I never heard anybody sing it. Never heard anybody read it. He says, What makes mistaken
men afraid of sovereign grace to preach? The reason is, if
truth be told, because they covet to be rich. Why so offensive
in their eyes does God's election seem? Because they think themselves
so wise that they have chosen Him. Why is imputed righteousness
a point so little known? Because men think they all possess
a righteousness of their own. of effectual atonement, why so
loath are some to hear or speak? Because it takes some work they
do to make his work complete. Not so, not so, not so the needy
helpless soul who cries to God in prayer and looks to him who
works the whole and finds his salvation there. His language
is Let me, my God, on sovereign grace rely. I own tis free grace,
because you bestowed it on one so vile as I. Election, election,
tis a word divine. For, Lord, I plainly see, had
not your choice preceded mine, I'd have never chosen thee. Don't be ashamed of that gospel.
It's the gospel of God. It's the gospel of His grace.
It's the gospel of His Son. And let me tell you something,
it's the gospel. It's the gospel. It's the truth,
is it not? And men are saved when they hear
the truth. In whom you trusted after you
heard, what? The word of truth. the gospel
of your salvation, in whom you believed after you heard the
truth. A man can't trust an unrevealed
Christ. He can't trust and be saved by
another Jesus. It's this one. This one who's
described and defined and set forth in the word. That's the
Christ that's saved. When we call on the name of Christ,
we call on the true name of Christ. It's not just, you know I hear
preachers say, who ever calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved if you say Lord, Lord. No, not everyone that says Lord,
Lord. It's the man who knows in here
what Lord means. When you call on the name of
the Lord, you call on him whose character is Lord. Isn't that
right? That's what he's saying. It's
not just using a name. It's understanding what the name
implies, what the name means, what is wrapped up in that name.
His power to save, his ability to save, his character as a savior. Jehovah! Said Kenu, Jehovah Repha,
Jehovah Nisa, Jehovah my banner, Jehovah my shepherd. Call on
that name! The word Lord means different
things to different people. The word Jesus means different
things to different people. What does Jesus mean to you?
Who is Jesus? Who is this Jesus? Who is this
Lord? Well, how can you call on Him
in whom you've not believed? How can you believe in Him of
whom you've not heard? And verse 2 says, And the things
which you've heard of me. What do you suppose Timothy heard
of Paul? What do you suppose Timothy heard
of Paul? I don't know what he heard. Christ. That was Paul's
message. It was Christ. Turn back to 1
Corinthians 1, and listen, Paul defines his message here. 1 Corinthians
1, he says here in verse 22, listen, I know what the Jews
are looking for, a sign. They're looking for a sign. Sure it's a sign. Looking for
some demonstration. Some sign. You know what people
are looking for now? A sign. They're always trying
to make the heavens form a picture of Christ, or they've got to
make a statue cry, or they've got to have that shroud that
came out of the tomb, or they've got to find some old paper somewhere, you know. They've
got to have a sign. I don't want to seek a sign.
Listen, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. The religious folks want
a sign. The worldly people want wisdom,
intellectually prove there's a God. Prove God created the
world. I've got some questions to ask
you, all these questions, foolish questions, Paul calls them. Listen,
but we preach what? Are we going to succumb to their
demand for science, succumb to their demand for intellectualism,
human wisdom? No sir, we preach Christ. We
preach Christ and him crucified. To the Jews, he's a stumbling
block then, he's a stumbling block now. And to the Greeks,
to the wise of this world, he was foolishness then. What makes
you think they're any different now? Foolishness. Sheer nonsense. You talk about
original sin and depravity and man's fall and being born in
sin. That little baby that a mother
brings forth from her womb was conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity,
brought forth speaking lies, already a sinner in the eyes
of Almighty God. Foolishness! You talk about God
came down to this earth in human flesh, made of a woman, made
under the law. God walked this earth in the
flesh of a man? took on himself the habit of
a servant, was obedient unto death, yea, even ashamed for
ignominious hate for death of the cause that he died. God died
on a cause in a human body? Nonsense! That that fellow hanging
there on that cross between two things is God Almighty He's the
Savior of sinners, He's the Messiah, He's the Christ, He's the King
of kings and Lord of lords, He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
He's the seed of David, He is the seed of Jesse, He's the woman
seed, that man on that cross who's dying in weakness, nonsense. And He rose again, and He ascended
to heaven where He sits at the right hand of the majesty on
high, nonsense. You keep preaching that. don't
succumb to their jeers or sarcasm or harassment. Paul said, I know
what to seek, a sign. I know what to seek, wisdom.
But we preach Christ. Look over there at chapter 2,
verse 1. Brethren, When I came to you, this is Carlisle, this
is the city of philosophers and learning. Brethren, when I came
to you, I didn't come with excellence of speech to impress you, or
wisdom to confound you, declaring the testimony of God. I'm determined
not to know anything among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That was Paul's message to Christ,
a person. This gospel is a person, and
that's the reason he says over here in our text in 2 Timothy
2, Timothy, be strong in the grace that's in Christ and the
things that you've heard of me. This same gospel, among many
witnesses. Who are these witnesses? Well,
Peter, James, and John Wright, but that's not all the witnesses.
Moses wrote of me. That's what Christ said, Moses
wrote of me. They said, we have Moses. He said, you don't believe
Moses. You don't believe Moses. If you'd believe Moses, you'd
believe me. Moses wrote of me. They said, Abraham's our father.
He said, if Abraham were your father, you'd love me. Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. Abraham saw my day, and he was
so glad. Our Lord took his disciples through
Moses and the Psalms and the major and minor prophets and
he said, all these things are written of me. To him give all
the prophets witness to Christ. If you can't see Christ Jesus
in the ark, you've missed the ark. If you can't see Christ
Jesus in the brazen serpent, you've missed it. If you can't
see Christ Jesus in the smitten rock, in the manna from heaven,
if you can't see Christ Jesus in the Passover lamb, if you
can't see Christ Jesus all the way through that Old Testament,
you've missed it. He is the Old Testament in pattern,
in picture, in promise, in time. That's Christ. That rock was
Christ among many witnesses. Now watch this, Timothy, the
same message, it never changes. This is 1992. Well, it may as
well be 92 B.C. We claim to be a lot more intelligent
now. Well, I'd like to see us produce
some John Knoxes and John Owens and Ignatius and Pollock Harps
and Augustines, wouldn't you? I'd just like to see our government
produce an Abraham Lincoln again, or a Thomas Jefferson, or a Patrick
Henry. All we can do is produce check
bouncers. We are awful smart, but it hasn't
helped us, has it, huh? The nation slid with all of its
intellectualism, and all of its so-called wisdom, and all of
its inventions, and all of its progress. I'll tell you where
we progressed straight downhill. That's our progress. Where is
the integrity? and the morality and the honesty.
I'm not just talking about salvation, I'm talking about human integrity
in government, and that's from the top to the bottom. No integrity,
no honesty, no morality. All of our so-called intellectualism
has done nothing but contaminate our government, contaminate our
schools, and contaminate our churches. We need to get back
to the simple truth of God's Word, the truth of living. And what you've heard of me,
he said, I tell you. And you know what he heard? He
heard Christ. You commit that, that same gospel, it never changes
to faithful men. That's what I've tried to do
here, and bless God, it's been done to some extent. Faithful
men. This same gospel. They're not
clones. I tell you, they're clones of
Christ. That's right, they're the sheep of Christ, and they
all look like, they look like Him. They follow Him. You say,
when you heard one of you fellas, you've heard them all. Brother,
you got it. I said to someone one time, I
said, well, you all have good messages when I'm away, don't
you? Same gospel, they said. Those fellas preach the same
thing you do. You know what Paul's saying here? What you've heard
of me, the same. You commit to faithful men who
shall be able. Because they've learned it in
here. Because they believe it in here. Because they're bold
in here. Because they wouldn't compromise
for anything in this world. And they'll teach others. Because
they're students. They're serious. Now here, watch
this. I'll give you this quickly. Listen.
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
It's not easy. Nobody said it would be. This
road of grace, this road of preaching the gospel, this swimming upstream,
this challenging, challenging every school, every reputable
denomination, organization, association, is not easy. But nobody said
it would be. Our Lord said they that would
live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Our Lord
said the hated men will hate you if you preach what I preach. In this world you have tribulation
and many of you men here and ladies also maybe served as soldiers
and sailors and airmen. It wasn't easy. They never said
it would be. You had to leave home. Had to leave
your families. Had to quit your jobs. Had to
go through basic training. Had to suffer loneliness. Some
wounds. Had to fight for what you believed.
Endure hardness as a good soldier. God said, I didn't. I didn't.
Our Lord Jesus said, I didn't come to send peace. I came to
bear a sword. I'll set a man at barracks with
his mother, with his father, with his brother and sister.
But if any man loved his mother, father, brother, sister, husband,
wife, or his own life more than me, he's not fit to be my disciple. You can't do it. You can't compromise
and be a soldier. You can't do it. You've got to. And that's the
reason he gives us these next three illustrations. In verse
4, 5, and 6, he gives us a soldier, a runner, and a farmer. And what Paul is saying is this
gospel is a commitment. It's the gospel of Christ. It's
Christ enthroned, Christ reigning, Christ as Lord. It's a commitment. It's a surrender, unconditional
surrender. It's laying down your shotgun,
laying down your sword. Commitment to Christ. He reigns.
And he says in verse 4, no man, here's a soldier, no man that
wanteth entangleth himself with the affairs of life, that he
may please him which chose him to be a soldier. Commanding officer
chose this young man to be a sergeant, master sergeant. Put him over
his troops, put him in charge. Well, he doesn't visit the base
on the weekends. He's there all the time, in heart.
Everything he's got, 100%. No man that warreth entangleth
himself with it. It's not a part-time thing. It's
Christ and the gospel all the time. We're in a war, we're in
a battle. We got enemies. And then he said
a runner, down here in verse 5, if a man strives for the mastery,
if a man's going to run a race, He's not going to be crowned
if he doesn't strive lawfully. What's this lawfully? According
to the rules. Here's a fellow running an 800
meter or 1000 meter race. He can't cut across the infield.
He's got to run the prescribed track. He's got to do it like
the rules are set down. And what is our rule? What are
our rules? The Word of God. I can't compromise. I can't cut
corners. I can't cut across the infield.
I can't invent new methods and new means and new ways to get
people to do things. I've got to follow the rules. Follow the rules. Here they are.
And then he said the husbandman, the farmer that labors must be
first partaker of the fruits. A better translation is this.
The farmer must labor before he partakes of the fruits. You
can't wish a garden into reality. You've got to go out there and
plow. Bust up the sod. You've got to plow it again and
again. Then you've got to plant it. And you've got to be patient. Then you've got to go out there
and cultivate it and hoe it. And you've got to get the weeds
out of it. It takes your attention full time. That's what he's saying
here. No man that entangleth himself
with affairs of this world, he's no warrior of this type. He's
not going to be a part-time soldier in the army of King Jesus. And
when he runs the race, sat before him, he's going to run according
to the rules, according to the Word of God. What does God say? Not what I think, or what you
want to get the job done better. Let's build a gymnasium, that'll
get all the young people in here, you know, and that That's not
the rules. It's preach the gospel. Preach
the gospel. God will bless his gospel. My
word will not return void. Well, let's dress like the modern
young people. Let's sing. Let's adopt their
type of singing. Let's appeal to them. Let's follow
the rules. What do you say? Let's follow
the rules. Let God be God. And then I'll
tell you what this old farmer's got to do. He's got to plow. Apollos is plowed, and Cephas
is watered, and somebody else plants, and God gives the increase. I believe that. I guarantee you
this, you preach this gospel, His sheep will hear the word.
They'll hear it. Don't you cut across the infield.
Don't try to take a shortcut. That's what Abraham and Saber
tried to do, and they got Ishmael. God said, you'll have a son.
I'll give you miraculously, supernaturally, a son. Now you just wait. And Sarah was on the committee
for advancement of the program. And she came to Abraham and said,
this waiting business is for the birds. I got a good idea. I'm always afraid when somebody's
got a good idea. Let's do it this way, let's have
this and have that, and sure enough, they got a son. But he's caused trouble ever
since he's entered this world. He's still over there raising
camels. God will give birth to his children
in his own time. This is the seed. We're born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by
the Word of God. You preach it. plant it and wait
on God. And He'll give birth to His people.
Other sheep I have, Christ said, I'll bring them. Don't you bring
them. Don't cut across. I'll bring them. Just keep on
the track. Keep on the track. Keep on the track. I'm tired.
Don't give up. Keep on the track. But there's
a whole lot of folks ahead of me. You just keep on the track.
Okay? I don't know how they got there.
And then the farmer, now listen, verse 7, I'll let you go. Consider
now what I've said. Well, I hope we will. Consider
what I say. And the Lord give you understanding
in all these things. He's on one case. I've had people
come here for the first time and say, I didn't understand
a thing you said. Well, that doesn't surprise me.
But I guarantee you the people here who know God understood
what I said. They didn't understand what the apostles said. They
didn't understand what Christ said. Paul said to Timothy, God's
got to give you understanding. I tell you, if you do understand
this Word and understand His glory and His greatness and His
power and understand your inability and sin to understand the effectual
sufficient work of Christ, you praise God and click your heels.
Because this mystery is hid from those that are lost. It's revealed
to God's children. And then the last verse. Remember,
here's the key to this whole thing. Remember, Jesus the Christ,
Jesus the Messiah, of the seed of David, of the seed of David,
made of a woman, of the seed of David according to the flesh,
a man Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Second
Person of the Blessed Trinity, God, very God of very God, His
name is wonderful, Counselor of the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ was made a decedent
David, came to this earth, the covenant surety, and He was raised
from the dead. You can't be raised from the
dead unless you die, so He died. He died for our sins according
to the scriptures. He was raised from the dead according
to the scriptures. And Paul said, that's according
to my gospel. My gospel. Why in the world would
he call it my gospel? Well, he calls it my gospel because
he's saved by it. Nothing becomes yours till you
possess it. Because he was entrusted with
it. God entrusted him with that gospel. That's mine. Because he was separated
to it and obsessed with it. It was his life. And he said,
my gospel, to distinguish it from the gospel of those other
fellows in Britain, is different. This is my gospel. My gospel. It's the gospel of God's grace.
And it's all Christ. All Christ. All right. Look at verse 9 and 10. I must
read this. And that's all I'll do. Wherefore
I suffer trouble. And you will. If you believe
what everybody else doesn't believe, you'll suffer trouble. As an
evildoer. Oh no, we're not evildoers. They
say we are. They said he's a devil. They
said he's a devil. They said about Christ. Even
under bonds. Even under jail. But the word
of God's not bound. Therefore, I am doing all things
for the elect's sake.

Be Strong In God's Grace

What does the Bible say about being strong in grace?

How do we know the doctrine of God's love is true?

Why is it important for Christians to love one another?

How can we be assured of our perseverance as Christians?

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Be Strong In God's Grace

What does the Bible say about being strong in grace?

How do we know the doctrine of God's love is true?

Why is it important for Christians to love one another?

How can we be assured of our perseverance as Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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