God's Own Gospel Call

Q: What does the Bible say about coming to Christ?

The Bible invites everyone who is thirsty to come to Christ for satisfaction and eternal life (Isaiah 55:1). Isaiah 55 begins with God's invitation to the thirsty to come to the waters, illustrating the spiritual need for cleansing and satisfaction that only Christ can provide. This call stresses the necessity of recognizing one's thirst, or need, for God before one can approach Him. The Bible often emphasizes that true coming to God involves a heartfelt acknowledgment of our neediness and our inability to satisfy our spiritual hunger on our own. Consider John 7:37, where Jesus invites those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink, promising that streams of living water will flow from within them.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

The doctrine of grace is evidenced by the promises of God, which are unconditional and rooted in His character (Jeremiah 31:33). The doctrine of grace is firmly rooted in Scripture, particularly within the context of God's covenants with His people. Jeremiah 31 details an everlasting covenant where God promises to be our God and allows us to be His people. This doctrine emphasizes that God’s grace is unearned, not contingent on human merit, and grounded in His immutable nature. The sure mercies of David signify the everlasting nature of God’s grace that is extended to all who believe. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul succinctly states that by grace we are saved through faith, reinforcing the biblical foundation of grace as a divine gift.

Q: Why is the concept of a new heart important for Christians?

The concept of a new heart is essential because it signifies spiritual transformation and the desire to follow God's ways (Ezekiel 36:26). In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to give His people a new heart and a new spirit, representing a radical transformation in their nature and desires. This is important for Christians as it underscores the work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating believers, enabling them to truly love and obey God's commands. When God writes His law on our hearts, it not only brings an inner desire to please Him but also manifests in tangible actions and attitudes consistent with a life transformed by grace. This concept reassures believers of their identity in Christ and their empowerment to live in accordance with God's will.

Q: What does it mean to come to God empty-handed?

Coming to God empty-handed means acknowledging our complete reliance on Him and our inability to earn His grace (Isaiah 55:1-2). Isaiah 55 emphasizes coming to God without money or resources, illustrating our total dependence on Him for spiritual sustenance. This concept of approaching God empty-handed conveys the message that salvation cannot be earned through our deeds but is a gift received through faith. It challenges the notion that human effort can merit God's favor, inviting individuals to recognize their true condition as needy and incapable. This is echoed in Ephesians 2:9, where it states that salvation is not a result of works, lest anyone should boast. Thus, coming to God empty-handed is a posture of humility that embraces God's grace and mercy.

If you want to, you can turn
to Isaiah 55. I hope you want to. I'm going to try to deal with
the first three verses of Isaiah 55. I'm calling this message, God's
Own Gospel Call. That's what Mr. Spurgeon called
it. He called Isaiah 55, God's own gospel call. And he said,
we need to forget Isaiah altogether and think only of Jehovah, for
here Jehovah speaks. But before I read the scripture,
I want to make a comment. I was interested in watching
the inauguration proceedings, our 41st president, and something happened that caught
my attention. One of the news media, a young
woman, And I think sometimes they picked them for their beauty,
not their brains. But she was interviewing one
of Mr. Bush's grandchildren. And I know
that all of you have noticed, if you paid any attention to
the conventions and the campaign and the inauguration, you've
noticed this this Bush family relationship. There are a number
of children and a number of in-laws and a number of grandchildren
and they seem to be a rather close-knit family. And I noticed even back in the
campaign or back at the convention when Mr. Bush was nominated,
he was sitting in a hotel room watching the TV screen as they
were This was the election night when they were voting, and he
had grandchildren all around him, and they were hugging his
neck and kissing him. He was kissing them. And then
the other day, when he was inaugurated, he came into the reviewing stand,
he and his wife, and there were grandchildren all around. One
of them jumped up in his arms and he kissed the child, and
he leaned down and kissed another one. television reporter, a young
woman, was interviewing one of those children, the little Mexican
girl, the one nine years old. You remember her? Some of you
have seen her? And she said, I noticed you sit
in your grandfather's lap and he kisses you and you kiss
him. Do you all really do this or
are you doing that for the camera? And I thought, when I heard her
say that first thing, I kind of tapped my head, did she really
ask that child that? Did this woman really ask this
nine-year-old if she was an insincere person? A phony? She was asking us, are you a
phony? Do you really love your grandfather?
Does your grandfather really love you, or is this phony? Are you insincere?" She was asking
that nine-year-old child if she were a phony. And I thought to
myself, I know why she asked that, because
she's a phony and living in a world of phonies. That's a commentary,
Ronnie, on our times. People are phony. They're genuinely phony. That's
exactly, especially in religion. The reason, and I thought this,
I tried to give the television interviewer the benefit of a
doubt, she deals with so much phoniness and hypocrisy, she
thinks everybody's a hypocrite. I tell you, you better not be
interviewed by one of them. They'll put a question mark on
every genuine thing you say, every honest observation you
make. If you're ever interviewed, you
better write your own interview. I'm telling you the truth. Because
they deal with and cope with insincerity and hypocrisy in
every area. And it's in religion more than
anywhere else. And I know now why she asked
it. Because she couldn't believe that little girl really loved
her granddaddy. And she couldn't believe a man
in public office and in public leadership could be a genuine
article. Are you a genuine article? Well, I'll tell you this, this
is one area where we'd better be genuine articles, and that's
when it comes to the Word of God. Oh, how I covet, and in
many respects I have it and have realized it. the privilege of
speaking to people who genuinely are interested in this thing
called eternal life. Genuinely interested in this
Word. Are you really? Are you? Am I? Are we putting
on a show? Are we doing this for the camera?
Are we doing it because we love God? Well, I value the Word of
God. I value it. And I'll tell you
this. Because you know John 3.16 doesn't
mean you know your Bible. I hear people all the time say,
well, I know my Bible. Yeah, he knows Psalm 23 and John
3, 16. But there's a heap more in this
word than John 3, 16 and Psalm 23. I would urge every one of us
to get to be students of the Word. Students of the Word. Learners. That's what a disciple
is. He's a learner. And I value every
word of the Word of God, but especially especially those words
which come directly from the mouth of God, as we have here,
Isaiah 55, look at it, directly from the mouth of God. I know
all scriptures given by inspiration of God, all scriptures, God breathed,
holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,
but our text is not so much spoken for God as by God. He says here in verse 1, chapter
55, listen to it, Oh, everyone that thirsted, everyone
that thirsted, come to the water. Are you thirsty? Are you really,
genuinely, sincerely thirsty, thirsty for cleansing? A man
will never come until he's thirsty. I'm telling you, it's not a matter
of will, it's not a matter of this, that, it's a matter of
need. It's a matter of need. Come to
the waters. He said, Oh, everyone that's
thirsty. Every, listen to me, every so-called invitation in
the Word of God has a condition. Now you follow that, coming to
me all you that labor and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Oh,
everyone that thirsty, come to the water. There's always, isn't
that right Jim? There's always a condition, there's
always a need. And that's what he's saying here.
If you asked me, he said to the woman at the well, if you knew
to whom you're speaking, you'd ask of me and I'd give you living
water and you'd never thirst again. If any man thirsts, let him come
to me. Out of his belly, out of his innermost being shall
flow rivers of water. Are you thirsty? I can say honestly
before God, I am thirsty. I am hungry for righteousness,
thirsty for righteousness, hungry for cleansing, thirsty for knowledge,
hungry for life eternal. I want, I believe like the Apostle
Paul, to know God. Do you? I don't want to miss
Christ playing church. Just must not. I must not miss
Christ. And I tell you this, the easiest
place to miss salvation is in the pulpit and the pew. And that's
the easiest place in the world to miss life eternal. We take
for granted, we take for granted, we get into a profession, we
get into a doctrine, we get into a church life, an activity, we
get into some kind of religious refuge, and we become We become
indifferent. We become careless. We become
satisfied. We become presumptuous. And I'll tell you, the Scripture
talks about this. If you call Him Father, you pass
the time of your sojourning here in what? In confidence. In fear. He said, my brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure. Examine yourselves whether
you're in the faith. Know ye not your own selves,
how that Christ dwelleth in you, that is, unless you are a reprobate? And watch this. Oh, everyone
is thirsty. We could just count that. Thirsty,
thirsty, thirsty. Are you thirsty? Come to the
waters. Come to the living waters. Christ
is the water of life, and he that hath no money. No money. No money. Don't bring anything.
You don't need to bring anything. I get weary of preachers telling
folks to give their time and talent and tithe to God. God
said, if I needed anything, I wouldn't ask you. I don't need your time,
talent, or tithe. He's not the needy one. We're
the needy one. We can't even provide a drink
of water. Don't bring anything. Oh, he
that hath no money. No money. Don't bring your works.
Don't bring your resolutions. Don't bring your determination
to do better. Without him you won't do any
better. You can't do any better. Don't
bring any deeds or resolutions or works. Come without money. Yeah, come by. and eat, yea,
come by wine and milk without money and without price, without
anything. Let not conscience make you linger." I have nothing to bring to God,
good. I have nothing to offer God,
that's good. In my hands no price I bring,
simply to the cross of Christ I cling. I come to Him for all
things. I bring nothing. Let not conscience make you linger,
nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness, and this is
not just a poem, it's a truth, that he requires is to feel your
need of him. And I'm saying candidly and boldly
and confidently, if any man wants Christ, he'll come to Christ
empty-handed. All you come with is an appetite.
You come naked and He'll clothe you. You come blind, He'll give
you sight. You come dumb and He'll give
you praise. You come empty and He'll fill
you. You come poor and He'll make you rich. Is that right John? I'm telling
the truth. I'm telling the truth. Come, come buy wine and milk
without money, without price. Don't bring anything to God.
Don't bring anything. I'm so tired of hearing people
talk about good people. These little slips reveal a whole
lot of what we believe. These little slips. I was in
a hospital room visiting one time and another preacher came
in. I have no respect for him because he doesn't preach the
gospel. But he walked in. We exchanged greetings and he
visited with the man I was visiting with and he talked religious
a little while, talked religion and so forth and bragged on me
a little bit, you know. And then he turned to walk out
and he said, well, luck with you. You say, well, you know, he's
just making a comment. He's speaking out of his heart.
And I hear people say this, well, I know this woman doesn't believe
like we do, and I know she doesn't, you know, know the gospel and
so forth, but she's a good woman. Now, come on folks. What is this
good business we're talking about? This good business. Is everybody
good who's not a drunk? Is everybody good who's not an
open thief? Is everybody good who's not living
in adultery? Is everybody good who's not an
open liar? Our Lord said there's none good.
Why don't we quit calling people good? If they're good, they don't
need God because they're good as God. Isn't that right, Cecil? They're not good. We're not good.
There's no goodness in us from the sole of our feet to the top
of our head. We're rebels. We hate truth,
hate God, and we're not good. My, my, my, my. Why, he said, verse 2, listen,
why do you spend your money? Why do you spend your efforts
and your activities? Why do you spend your strength?
Why do you spend your time? Why do you go through the motions
in religion and spend money for that which is not bread? It's
not bread, it's chaff. Ridiculous chaff is all it is. It's nothing but sawdust. What's
being presented from the average pulpit is not bread. Why do you
spend your time and your strength and your effort and your activity
for that which is not good and your labor going about for that
which doesn't satisfy, doesn't give any peace or rest or joy? If I know anything about salvation,
it's supposed to bring rest to the soul, is it not? If I know
anything about the promises of God, they're supposed to bring
peace to the heart. Is that not right? Well, where
is the peace of religion? Where is the joy and the rest,
the glory? Where is it in religion? Hearken
unto me. Listen to verse 2. Hearken diligently
unto me. Listen to me. We've listened
to me long enough. We need to listen to God. Hearken
unto me. Leave the pig pen. Leave the
husk like the particle sun. Eat that which is good. Quit
eating the chaff and the husk and the sawdust. Quit devouring
this stuff that's not bread and it does not satisfy and does
not give peace. Eat that which is good. Feed
on the word of God. Let your soul delight in real
spiritual food and fatness. Get into this book. Get into the promises of God.
And here are two precepts and two promises. Now listen to verse
3. See if you can pick them up yourself. Here are two. Are you thirsty? Come to the
water. I don't bring anything. You don't
have anything God needs or God can use. Just come with your
appetite. Come to Him. And no, I don't
understand, he said, Why are you following this path you're
following and spend your money and your efforts and your time
for that which does not satisfy, does not give peace and joy? There are two precepts and two
promises. First of all, he said this, listen,
here's the first precept, first direction, incline your ear,
incline your ear, come unto me here. and your soul will live. Incline your ear. Listen. Let
me ask you something. Is this asking too much of a
guilty sinner to ask him to hear God? Just hear God. Is that asking too much? Is that
asking too much of a dying creature? Will you listen? Lying down your
spiritual depravity and in your corruption, lying there in your
chains? Will you just tune an ear my
way, God said? Will you just listen to me for
a moment? Incline your ear? It's the most difficult thing
in the world today to get somebody to listen to the Word of God. I'll tell you What is wise, when
you're in these discussions, I know a lot of you get in discussions
with people with whom you work. Do this, try this sometime. Here's
a friend, you're discussing religion with this person. You're discussing
these great themes and topics. Just say to him, who is God? Who is God? Tell me about God. Now say this to him, don't you
tell me what you think, and don't you tell me what you heard, and
don't you tell me what you've always believed. Quote the Word
of God and tell me who God is. Ninety percent of them don't
know anything about the Word of God, but absolutely refuse to hear
him unless he quotes scripture. Then ask him what happened in
the fall. in the fall of Adam. How does the fall of Adam affect
you and me? What are the consequences of
the fall? What's the condition of man because of the fall? And
don't tell me what you think. Tell me what the Word of God
says. And then ask him, who is Jesus Christ? Tell me something
about his eternality. Tell me something about his attributes. Tell me something about his incarnation. Tell me something about his life
on earth and his death and where he is now. And don't you tell
me what you think. You tell me what God says. That's what I want to hear, what
God says. And this is what he's saying, incline your ear to me. Hear me. That's not asking too
much, is it? And he says, and here's the second
precept, incline your ear, hear me, hear me, and come to me. Come to me. Bartimaeus did. Here sits Bartimaeus, and that's
us, son of Timaeus, son of his father. Bar, son, Timaeus, son
of Timaeus. There he sat in his darkness,
in his depravity, in his poverty, in his filth. in his inability,
sat there in his blindness, totally unable to do anything
about it. And that's us. Our Lord said,
can the Ethiopian change his skin? No. Can the leopard change
his spot? No. Neither can you do good.
You are born to do evil. And he sat there and our Lord
came by and he said, Jesus, thy son of David, have mercy on me. And our Lord spoke and said,
come to me. And Bartimaeus heard him and
arose and came to him. Now is that asking too much? I tell you folks, they'll come
to anybody but Christ. They'll come to the front. They'll
come to the bench. They'll come to the pool. They'll
come to the preacher. They'll come to the priest. They'll
come to the church. They'll come anywhere. But as
far as personally, privately, individually, hungrily, thirsty,
coming to Christ, here I am! Here I am! I'm God here. Speak to me. I need you. Oh, how I need you. I need you. Is that asking too
much? Incline your ears and hear me. and come to me. That's the two-fold
precept. Listen and come to me. Hear me
and come to me. Hear me now. We live in an unfortunate
day. We live in a day of commercialized
religion. We live in a day of entertainment
in the name of God. We live in a day of promotion
and programs. We live in a day when everybody
is saved. Brother Barnard said one time,
everybody in Ashton has been saved at least three times. Unfortunately, that's just so.
Everybody's religious. They don't know anything, but
they're religious. Oh, if we could just get somebody's
ear. And I don't think this is just
the outer ear. I think it's the heart. I think
he said, hear me, hear me. Oh, here's the promises now.
Did you get them? He said, incline your ear, come
to me here, and your soul will live. Oh, I tell you, do you
believe the sons of Adam are dead in sin? Do you really believe
that? Most people don't. Do you believe Hugh, Huthy, Quicken,
who were dead in trespasses? Do you really believe, as in
Adam all die, die, die, as Brother Bowie said, graveyard dead. Do
you believe that? And only the Son can give life,
and the Son, watch it now, will quicken whom He will. You really
believe that? Well, he said, you hear. If you
can hear, can you hear? If you're thirsty, you have nothing
to bring, and you'll incline your ear, and you'll hear me,
and if you'll come to me, don't come to that preacher, he can't
help you. Don't come to the inquiry room. They'll just get you in
the shape they're in. Don't dare deal with a soul winner
when you need Christ. Don't do it. I warn you. He said, you come to me and your
soul will live. He's the only one that can touch
my life. He's the only one that can touch
my soul. He's the only one that can say, Lazarus, come forth! Or they could have sent Peter,
James, and John, all the rest of them down there, and that
Lazarus would have stayed in that grave. The only one who
has the power to give me in life is the Christ, who is the life. I'm telling the truth. And you'll
live. If you'll come to me, do we believe
that we died in Adam? Do we believe the Son quickens
whom He will? Do we believe that? Oh, hear
me. Hear me. This dear man said to me last
week, he said, I listen to your tapes over and over again, over
and over again. And someone asked him, why do
you listen to the same tape over and over again? He said, each
time I listen, I hear something I didn't hear before. Or he said,
it's not a man speaking to me, it's God speaking to me through
the Word. It's God. We're sermon samplers. We're
sermon tasters too often. We're sermon critics. And most
sermons ought to be criticized. But I'll tell you, when God speaks,
when God speaks through His Word and through a genuine servant
of His, He does not speak in vain. He said, My Word will not
return unto me void. It shall accomplish that whereunto
I have sent it. In other words, the water of
the Word shall quench the thirst of those who are really thirsty.
It will meet the need of those who are empty. It will fill the
heart of those who are empty. All right, here's the second
promise. The precepts incline your ear and come to me. And the promise is, and your
soul will live, now watch this, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you. Oh, Bob, I'm a candidate, are
you? Jim? I'm a candidate. I'm not looking
for the right church. I'm looking for the king of the
church. I'm not trying to find out what the old Puritans believed.
I'm trying to find out what God says. I'm not trying to be a good Baptist
or leave A mark on this world, I'm trying to find Him who is
my beloved. Aren't you? I want to know Him.
I'll make with you an everlasting covenant. Now look, my friend,
this is the covenant of grace, not of works. I'll make it. This is an unconditional covenant,
all conditions fulfilled by Christ. This is a covenant for the unworthy,
not the worthy. the unworthy. This is an everlasting
covenant. It will never be revoked for
any reason. This is a covenant, as David
said, ordered in all things and sure, it's complete. This is
a covenant, now watch this, filled with sure mercies, not rewards. Look at the next line. And he
said, I will make with you an everlasting covenant, even the
sure mercies of David. Now I'll tell you, and it's not
far-fetched, the same covenant mercies and
blessings that God gave to Abraham are for you and me. The same
sure, sure mercies. And I'll tell you, these mercies
can't be sure if they're conditioned in any way upon what I do. Can't
be sure. He said it is by grace that it
might be sure. It is a gift that it might be
sure to all. And he said, you incline your
ear, you hear me, you come to me and I'll make an everlasting
covenant with you and I'll give you the sure, certain, guaranteed
mercies of David himself, man after God's own heart. I have
found David. David with all of his failures,
David with all of his slips and stumbles and falls, David with
all of his David with all of his strength
and battles. But he said, I found this man
to be a man after my own heart, God said. My heart. That's what I want to be, a man
after God's own heart. Don't you? I fear to be a hypocrite. I fear
to be an actor. I fear presumption. I fear indifference. I fear anything that smacks of religious pretense. Scared to
death. Absolutely scared to death. Aren't
you? Pretense. We were down in the isle of St.
Kitts, walking out on one of the islands there. One time we
visited the missionaries. And I saw some coconuts over
there, and I walked over there, and there wasn't a mark on it. There was the coconut. And I
just reached over and stomped it, and it fell open. And there
wasn't a thing in it. Not a thing. It was a shell. It had rotted on the inside.
It looked good. Boy, I fear that, don't you?
You appear beautiful unto men, but on the inside, you're full
of what? Corruption. Dead men's bones. What are these sure mercies?
I'm going to give them to you and quit. I want you to turn
to Jeremiah 31. Oh, what a promise. What a promise. I'll give you
the sure mercies. Jeremiah 31. I'm just going to
give them to you. There are nine of them. That
sounds, I know you just trembled when I said that. But believe
me, I'm going to give them briefly and let you fill them in. Jeremiah
31, verse 33. Now this covenant is mentioned
in three or four places. Jeremiah 31, 33. This shall be
the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord. I'll put my law in their inward
parts. and write it in their hearts.
That's number one. It doesn't do me any good to
have the law on tables of stone. It doesn't do me any good to
have the law written on paper. It won't do us any good to put
the law over here on this side of the church and the covenant,
church covenant over there and have people read it. I can read
it. I can memorize it. I can preach
it. It will do no good unless I love
it. You cannot legislate morality. And when the law of God, now
watch this, here's what he said he's going to do for me. When
the law of God becomes a part of my nature and of my principles,
see what I'm talking about, Tom? Then I delight in it. And that's
what he's saying here. I'm going to take, when I give
you new life and a new heart, I'm going to take my law, my
precepts, my commandments, and write it on your heart and make
it a part of your nature and your principle. Now, I may not
always obey it all, but I do love it all. It's my full intention
to obey it all because I delight in the law of God. Is that clear
what I'm saying? That's what he's saying. I'm going to put
that on your heart. It's not going to be on the wall. It's
not going to be something you read and argue. It's going to
be written on your heart. That's the first part of this
sure mercy. That's a mercy when God writes
his law on your heart. Makes you love it. Secondly,
watch it now, and I'll be their God and they'll be my people. Now we may claim, well, I'm a
son of God. The Pharisees said the same thing.
He said, I'm going to be your God and you'll be my people.
We may claim what we will, it's to no avail until he claims us. I choose Jesus. Well, that's
fine. Did he choose you? That's what
makes the difference. God said, you're going to be
my son and I'm going to be your God.
You see, as many as received Him, to them gave He the privilege,
right power to become sons of God, even to them that believe
on His name, which were born, not of natural genealogy, not
of the will of man, not of the will of the flesh, but of God.
I chose you. I'm going to be your God. That's
a mercy. You're my Son, and I'm your God. You see, my sheep hear
my voice, and I give them eternal life. I'm going to be your God.
Thirdly, watch this, verse 34, And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from
the least to the greatest. God said this, They will know
me, for I will reveal myself to them. They will know God. Now the unregenerate natural
man does not know God. He has a God, and he has some
ideas about God, but he doesn't know the living God. I know his
name. You know his name. His name is
Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. That's
his name. His name is Jehovah Rapha. He's
the Lord that healeth me. His name is Jehovah Nisa. He's
my banner. You say, why don't you have a
Christian flag over here? There ain't no such animal. Christ
is my banner. I don't recognize it. I don't
pledge allegiance to a flag. This one I do, it's the flag
of my country. But that's carnal material. But
my banner is Christ. His banner over me is love. You
say, that's a silly thing. It's not silly either. No sir,
it's not. I know Him. There is a difference. Jehovah Shalem, He is my peace.
His name is Jehovah Raya, He is my shepherd. He is Jehovah
Sidkenu, He is my righteousness. Jehovah Shema, He is present. So where did you get that? Well,
I did not get it in John 3, 16 memorized. I got it from the
Word of God. God reveals Himself in His Word.
to those who are hungry. You thirsty? Incline your ears. Hear me. You see, folks around
here just don't go to church because it's Sunday. They come
to hear from God, to find out who He is. You don't arrive at
a knowledge of God overnight. God reveals Himself through His
Word, through His Word, through His Word. We're babes in Christ. We are young men in Christ. We
are elders in Christ. We grow in grace and in the knowledge
of Christ. He said, they are going to know
me. They are going to know me. Every one of them is going to
know me. And then fourth, here is the fourth mercy. And he said,
I will forgive their iniquity. I will forgive their iniquity
and I will remember it no more. Oh my goodness, alive? Do we really understand what
he's saying here? I will literally, actually forgive
their iniquity and remember it no more. I'll tell you why this
is so hard for us to enter into, because it's so hard for us to really forgive people and remember the transgression
no more. That's pretty hard, isn't it? We're so full of self and vengeance
and grudges, we can't comprehend full forgiveness. But Almighty
God says about me, I'm talking about all my sins from birth
to death, all my sins past, present and future. He said, I'll not only forgive
them, but I won't remember them anymore. The child of God is
so totally forgiven by the mercy of God that if you were to say,
Lord, do you remember what so-and-so did back there a few years ago?
He'd say, I don't remember it. I don't remember it. I do not
remember it. It doesn't exist. That's the
power of the blood of Christ. Now that can't be accomplished
by a decision and by filling out a card. Blessed is the man
to whom God will not charge sin. He will not impute iniquity.
Isn't that a mercy? That's the mercy. That's the
sure mercies. Now you're here and come to me
and I'll give you the sure mercies. Number five. Turn to Jeremiah
32, just over a page. Jeremiah 32, 38. Listen to him
here. Jeremiah 32, 38. He says, I'll
be there. There'll be my people. I'll be
their God. Now watch this, verse 39. And I'll give them one heart
and one way, one heart and one way that they may fear me forever
for the good of them and of their children after them. I'm going
to give them one heart. Your true godliness, listen to
me a moment, true godliness is not creeds. True godliness is
not enforced morality. True godliness is not doctrines
and laws and correct ceremony and ordinances. True doctrine
has to do with this right here, one heart, one way, and one spirit,
the fear of the Lord. One heart, one way, and that
way is for His glory, and one spirit, the fear of the Lord.
All reverence, awareness of His glory and greatness. Number six,
quickly, in verse Jeremiah 32, verse 40. Now watch this. I will
make an everlasting covenant with you that I will not turn
away from them to do them good. I will not turn away from them
and I will put my fear in their hearts and they will not depart
from me. You see, this is preservation
and perseverance. You say, brother, what do you
believe about perseverance? Well, I believe this right here.
Here's a summary of perseverance, and it starts with preservation.
We are kept by the power of God. God does not change, therefore
you sons of Jacob are not consumed. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. My perseverance and my security
depend solely and completely on His immutable promise and
covenant and power. And because, he said, I'll not
depart from them, and watch this, and I'll do something for them,
I'll put a fear of God in their hearts, and a love for God in
their hearts, and a devotion to God in their hearts, and because
of that, they won't depart from me. They'll continue in the faith. You see what I'm trying to say?
That's this eternal security bit. That's this once in grace
and always in grace. The security of God's people
is always based upon God's power and purpose. Always. He said, I'll make a covenant
with them in choosing them and calling them and justifying them
and keeping them. I'm not going to depart from
them. Not a one of them. And I'll do something for them.
I'm going to write my law on their hearts. They'll love it.
I'm going to give them a knowledge of me. I'm going to be their
God, and they're going to be my people. I'm going to give
them one heart and one way, and I'm going to put my fear in their
hearts, and they'll never leave me. They'll never skedaddle off
somewhere. They'll never follow any other shepherd. They'll never
do it, because everything they need is in me. They'll never
do it. They just never do it. John said,
if it had been of us, they wouldn't have left us. They couldn't have
left us if they had been off us. Isn't that what he said? All right? See number 7. See
how good I'm doing? All right? He said in Ezekiel,
now let's go to Ezekiel. Here's the other mercies. Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36, 25. Now watch this one. Still talking
about that covenant. And he says in verse 25, Ezekiel
36, And I'll sprinkle clean water upon you. Oh, I love this. I'm going to sprinkle clean water
on you and you'll be clean. Clean. Now let me ask you candidly
and honestly, does anybody here, anybody, I don't care who it
is, do you feel clean, holy? Or I don't. I'll tell you in
all honesty, my secret thoughts, they embarrass me. And my hasty
words just make me blush before God. And my general attitude
makes me feel guilty. And I've done so many things
that literally humiliate me before God and men, haven't you? But God says here, I'm going
to clean you. You're clean. You're clean through
the Word I've spoken to you. That's sanctification. And he
said, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. That's
justification. Cleansed by the water and the
Word, and cleansed by the blood. That's right. In Christ, literally,
I am clean, clean, clean. Whew! I tell you, isn't that
thrilling? I'm clean. In verse 26, number
8, he said, and a new heart I'll give you, a new heart and a new
spirit I'll put within you, and I'm going to take away from you
that old divided, stony, flint-like heart and give you a heart that's
soft, a heart that's soft. I tell you, I just, I have a little trouble
with people who, religious people who are hard. I have a little
trouble with that. I have trouble with, John said
he had trouble with people who claimed to know God who didn't
love people. We have trouble with those who claim to know
God and no fruit, no love, joy, faith, peace, so forth. I have
trouble with that. And I have trouble with people
who claim to know God who are not kind and tender and generous. I was over in a certain country
one time preaching, and I was just treated rudely, just
to be honest with you. I was a guest, I was in the church,
the pastor was there, three elders, and they just treated me rudely.
I wouldn't go back. And when I left there, I said
to the man with me, or I said they were rude. And he said,
well, it's just their culture. When Christ saves a man, He changes
his culture. Now you can write that down. He takes out the stony, hard
heart and gives him a heart of flesh. You're not turned and
merciful and generous and loving. I just don't believe God's given
you a new heart. That's just being practical.
I can convince a man he's a sinner. That's no trouble. I can teach
a man doctrine, the doctrines of grace. I can make a man fear
hell and desire heaven. I can persuade a man to join
some church, profess religion. I can give a man things to do
and things not to do. But only God can give him a new
heart. Only God. That's just so. And verse 31,
here's the last one. This is a mercy. You may not
look on it as such, but it is a mercy. Verse 31 of Ezekiel
36. There are hundreds of them. I
just picked out nine. Then, verse 31, "...shall ye
remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not
good, and loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities
and for your abominations." That's a mercy? Yes, sir. It's a mercy
to be able to say, and genuinely mean it. I'm the chief of sinners."
You see, people don't understand this. I've had even folks come
here and say, I don't... One fellow came and left and
somebody said, are you going back? He said, no, I'm not going
to hear a sinner preach. That man said he was a sinner. You see, folks don't understand
this. They talk about he's a sinner man. Isaiah said, I'm a man of unclean
lips. Job said, I abhor myself. David said, my sins are ever
before me. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am. Now the religious world does
not understand that kind of talk. They don't understand. But a
person who is an object of the sure mercies of David, one of
those mercies is, he never forgets the pit from which he was dug. Listen, closing, even in glory,
his song is, unto him who loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own precious blood. I tell you, the sure mercies
of God Not only receive the humble, but they keep him humble. They
keep him humble. Isn't that delightful? Oh, everyone
is thirsty. See, that's what makes this thing.
Well, you know the Bible says, That's what makes it as meaningless
and empty as most of the rest of the stuff we listen to. Our
God speaks. His own gospel calls and He addresses
some folks. Are you thirsty? Let me tell
you what I have for you. Let me tell you what I have.
All right. Mike, come lead us in a psalm,
please.

God's Own Gospel Call

What does the Bible say about coming to Christ?

How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

Why is the concept of a new heart important for Christians?

What does it mean to come to God empty-handed?

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God's Own Gospel Call

What does the Bible say about coming to Christ?

How do we know the doctrine of grace is true?

Why is the concept of a new heart important for Christians?

What does it mean to come to God empty-handed?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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