The other night, over in Madisonville, Kentucky,
where I preached in a Bible conference, I talked to several young men and young women who
were visiting from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who were in the armed
forces. visiting in the Bible conference. One of them was there from a
southern state, I believe South Carolina, and I held a conversation with
him about his home church. He was talking about his home
church. He was a I suppose, a well-read
young man. He seemed to know what he was
talking about. He was very young, but he had been doing some reading. And as we talked about his home
church, and he mentioned his pastor, and I, in the course
of the conversation, I asked him this question. I said, does your pastor preach
sovereign grace? And his reply prompted my message
for the night. I thought quite a bit about what
he answered. There are a lot of implications
in what he replied. I said, does your pastor preach
sovereign grace? And he looked at me and he said,
well, yes, but he doesn't harp on it. And I got to thinking about that
answer. How does a fellow harp on the
grace of God? What would you consider harping
on the grace of God? How often do you have to preach
the grace of God to be harping on it? What's wrong with harping
on the grace of God? Can you think of anything better
to harp on? I just thought about a lot of
things, you know. And then I thought about this, to a man who doesn't,
now listen to me, to a man who doesn't believe in his heart
that salvation is by grace alone, to a man or woman who does not
in his heart, now he may in his head and he may in his catechism,
he may in his creed, he may in his denominational leanings,
he may in his profession, But to a man who really does not
ascribe all that he is and has and ever will be totally, completely,
absolutely to the free grace of God, preaching it once a month
would be harping on it to him, because he just doesn't want
to hear about grace, grace, grace, grace, grace. But to a man who
knows that he's undeserving, ill-deserving, hell-deserving
to a man who knows that he's wretched, miserable, poor, and
blind, to a man who knows that he is undeserving of even the
least of God's favors of mercy, to a man that knows he's insufficient,
incapable, and unable of himself to breathe, let alone to call
on God. Preaching at every service would
not be harping on it. If he heard nothing but the grace
of God from morning till evening and dreamed about it at night,
it wouldn't be too much to him, because he knows he is what he
is by the grace of God. He even knows that what he knows
is by the grace of God, and what he has is by the grace of God. And his theme song is, O to grace,
how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. My friends, there's no subject
in this Bible that's not directly related to the grace of God.
I do not know of one thing, and I thought about this when I jotted
that down to make it one of the points in my introduction, there's
no subject in this Bible that is not directly related to the
grace, the free grace, the unmerited favor of God Almighty, except
one. You know what that is? There's
only one subject. The grace of God has nothing
with which to do. That particular subject. One
subject. One happening. But the grace
of God had nothing to do with it. That's the fall of man. He
did that by himself. That's the only thing we've ever
done as far as God's concerned, as far as spiritual matters are
concerned, as far as our relationship with God. That's the only thing
we've ever done on our own is fall. Everything else for the
grace of God. For example, it was God's grace
that determined to save a people. Turn back to Ephesians, that
scripture I read a moment ago. It was God's grace It was God's
free, unmerited grace, it was God's free favor that determined
in the first place to have a people out of Adam's wraith. Go back before all of this came
to pass. Now here Paul did it in the Scripture
I read a moment ago in verse 3 of Ephesians 1. Paul says,
Praise God, verse 3 of Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us. God's blessed
us. He's blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. Now Paul, watch this. Paul is writing to this church
at Ephesus, and he is talking about the blessings that we have,
spiritual blessings. God's blessed us. We have redemption,
remission of sins. We have forgiveness. We have
life. We have fellowship with God.
We have sonship. We have adoption. We have a knowledge
of God. We have fellowship with God in
prayer. We have these things in Christ. Now watch it. What's the next
verse? According. According. Because. He has chosen
us in Christ. That's the reason, John, I have
these blessings, because He chose me in Christ. That's what I'm
doing in Christ, because He chose me in Christ. That's how I got
in Christ, because God chose me in Christ. I'm in Christ. How did I get in Christ? I have
all these blessings in Christ, but how did I get in Christ?
Because God chose me in Christ. And then he goes back another
step, look, in verse 5. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. In other words, my blessings
that I now have were preceded by an act of God, of choosing
me. And that act of God was preceded
by a purpose of God, a predestinating purpose. God predetermined. The
word predestinated means predetermined, determined before it comes to
pass. And God determined that he would have children, adopted
some children by Jesus Christ. And before that came a will to
do it, according to the good pleasure of his will. Back many
years ago, I think it was 1954, I never will forget how much
this helped me. I was young in the gospel of grace, twenty-eight
years old. Brother Fletcher came here from
Hampton, Virginia, and taught the book of Ephesians, the first
two chapters. And he got on these verses right
here, and he said, now, he says, if I trace my blessings, I start
where I am. That's the only way I can trace
blessings is to start where I am. Start with the blessings. So
he said, I have been blessed by God. Everything I have is
by grace. I believe Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. I do. Like a man that was here
last Sunday said something about, well, he said, that preacher
sure believes what he preaches. I do, my friend. I believe it.
I believe the Bible is the Word of God. I believe Christ died
for our sins. I believe He redeemed us. I believe
we are children of God. I believe that. Like Bruce said
a while ago, as well as I know my name, I believe that. All
right. How did I get there? Take one
step back. God chose me in Christ. I'm in
Christ, I'm redeemed in Christ, forgiven in Christ, justified
in Christ, not because I put myself in Christ, or my mother
and daddy put me in Christ, or my preacher put me in Christ,
or my good works put me in Christ, but God put me in Christ. He
chose me in Christ. I don't know why, I just know
He did. And then, why'd He choose me
and why'd He choose any of us? because he predetermined or predestinated
that he was going to have some folks like Christ. He's going
to have a people. Heaven's going to be populated,
Barnard said. God's going to have some children.
God's going to have a family. God's going to have a kingdom.
God's going to have a people, and every one of them are going
to be like his beloved only begotten Son. He determined that. Now, I know a lot of people use
that word predestination in reference to every time a kite falls or
a tree falls or a bird falls, but predestination has to do
with what we're going to be. God predetermined that we'd be
like Christ. Four or five times it's used
in the New Testament. Every time it's in this direction,
God predetermined. that everybody whom he saves
is going to be like Christ. It's just like he says, they're
going to be like my son. That's predestinated. Everything
that happens from the time I've chosen to the time I resurrect
them is working toward that end, that purpose of making them like
Christ. Now then, Mr. Fletcher said, I take one more
step back. God has blessed me because he chose me. He chose
us in Christ because He predetermined to have a people like Christ.
They'd never choose Him. They'd never come to Him. They'd
never seek Him. They'd never love Him. Well,
why did He predetermine to have a people like Christ? Because
that was His will. That was His good pleasure. So
He said, now, if I'm going to trace my blessings from that
end, from God's end, then I'll start with His good pleasure.
God had a purpose. God had a will. And that will
was to have a people. And then he chose those people.
And then when they were born on this earth, he blessed them
and called them to himself. Now, everything is related to
that. Making Christ our surety is related to the grace of God.
It was the grace of God that made Christ our surety. It was
the grace of God that gave Christ to people. It was the grace of
God that sent Christ into the world in the fullness of time.
We didn't bring Christ down. We didn't go up after Christ.
God so loved that He gave His Son. That's grace. In the fullness
of time, God sent forth His Son into the world. It was God's
grace that called me. Turn to Galatians chapter 1.
Listen to the Apostle Paul here, Galatians 1 verse 13. Paul talks
about his religious background. He said, now you've heard. You've
heard of my conversation in times past in the Jews' religion, how
that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and wasted
it, and I profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals
in my own nation, Galatians 1.14, being more exceedingly zealous
of the traditions of my Father, But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that
I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately I didn't
confer with flesh and blood. That's when I was called, when
it pleased God. when it pleased God. God had
already chosen me. God had already predetermined
that I'd be like Christ. He's a chosen vessel unto me,
God said. From my mother's womb, God had
his designs and love and affection upon me. I was an object of his
grace. But when it pleased him, and
in this particular case, the Apostle Paul had come through
Being born a Hebrew of Hebrews and a tribe of Benjamin and schooling
of Gamaliel and persecuting the church and wrapped in his own
self-righteousness, that's the route he came. But when it pleased
God, God arrested him on the road to Damascus. And God called
him, God revealed Christ in him. He may have brought you another
route. The Apostle Peter didn't come that route. The Apostle
Peter came down by the seashore, vile, sinful, cursing, wretched,
fisherman. And another man comes another,
Onesimus. Onesimus was a slave. Onesimus
lived in the house of Philemon. He was just a slave, maybe a
black slave. But he escaped. He was an escaped
slave. He escaped to Rome. While in
Rome, Heard Paul preach and came to knowledge of the gospel. Paul
sent him back home. So you see, God's people come
different routes, but they come to the same place, Calvary, to
the cross. They come to Christ. And when
it pleases God, some are called very young. Paul said of Timothy,
from a child you knew the Holy Scriptures that were able to
make you wise to salvation. Some of you didn't know them
from a child, some of you did. Some of you came the religious
road, some of you came the Arminian road, some of you came the Roman
road, some of you came the rebel road, some of you came other
roads. But I'll tell you when you'll
come to Christ, when it pleases God by His grace to call you. You may be 50, 60 years old before
God calls you, but I'll guarantee you it's His grace that calls
you. We're all Arminians by nature.
We're all religious by nature. But only by grace are we Christians. Only by grace are we believers.
Only by grace are we in Christ. It pleased God to call me by
His grace. And I'll tell you this, turn
to Jude 24. It's His grace that keeps us. Now brethren, I'm telling
you this. Some of us have been shocked
to no end by developments in our lifetimes. I've watched preachers,
deacons, Sunday school teachers, church members, and people so
emphatic and energetic and zealous for what I'm preaching tonight. fall along the wayside, depart
from any identification with the grace of God. I've seen them
go into tongues, I've seen them depart into mysticism, I've seen
them go into infidelity, I've seen them go into materialism,
I've seen them go into every kind of ism and schism you can
think of. There's no reason for me being
lifted up. There's no reason for me and myself to feel secure. There's just one reason that
I don't depart, and that's His grace. That's so in Jude chapter,
not one chapter, verse 24. Now unto Him that's able to keep
you from falling, to keep you from falling. And I mean, my
friend, with one hand on the doorknob of heaven to keep you
from falling. And he's the only one who's able.
I'm kept by his grace. It's his grace that chose me. It's his grace that loved me. It's his grace that sought me.
It's his grace that called me. It's his grace that kept me.
And Barnard said emblazoned. Across the sky in glory will
be these words, Salvation is of the Lord, from start to finish.
Alpha to Omega. It will be God's grace that raises
me from the tomb and makes me like His Son. And the song of
the glorified will be, Praise God for His wonderful grace. And it will be amazing grace.
How sweet the sound that saved, and keeps saving, and effectually
saves a wretch like me. I once was lost, and if it wasn't
for God's grace, I wouldn't be now. But now I see. I once was
blind. If it wasn't for God's grace,
I'd be blind now. Or I'd go blind. But now I see. I don't see one thing in which
the natural man has to boast. To be honest with you, turn to
Jeremiah. Chapter 9. Really and truly,
now let's think about it. What do we have to boast about? If you don't give God... This
boy says he doesn't harp on the grace of God. Well, my friend,
what else do you want me to harp on? If I'm going to harp, and
you know, I guess saints are supposed to harp, aren't they?
I see all these pictures, everybody's got a harp, play a harp. But
if I'm going to harp, what am I going to harp on if it's not
the grace of God? In Jeremiah 9, verse 23, the
Lord said, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. So we're not going to talk about
our wisdom. I know what my wisdom is. It's foolishness. It's utter,
absolute foolishness. But of God are you in Christ
Jesus who's made unto us wisdom. So wisdom is by His grace, alright?
Neither let the mighty man glory in his might, in my strength,
in my courage, in my ability to hold out. I've seen too many
stronger than I thought. So I'm not going to glory in
my might, either physical might or mental might or spiritual
might. It's by his grace I stand. He
said this, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall. You think you stand? You better take heed. It's only
by God's grace you stand. Let not the rich man glory his
riches. Any kind of riches. Riches of
grace, riches of goods, riches of health, riches of anything. You better not glory those riches
for who maketh thee to differ? What do you have you didn't receive?
Come on now, name one thing. What do you have you didn't receive? Now, if you didn't receive it,
God says, why do you boast as if you didn't receive? I don't
know anything else to glory in besides the grace of God. I stand
on my two feet tonight by the grace of God. I raise my arm
by the grace of God. I see, I hear, I speak. I live
by the grace of God. But, verse 24, let him that gloryeth,
glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord
which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, righteousness in the
earth. These are the things in which
I delight, says the Lord. God forbid, Paul said, God forbid
that I should glory Save in what? In the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. I fail to see where any son of
Adam has one thing in which to gloat except the grace of God. Sovereign grace is the answer
to human sin. Sovereign grace is the answer
to human inability. Sovereign grace is the answer
to human unwillingness. Sovereign grace is the answer
to human weakness. Sovereign grace is the answer
to human guilt. Sovereign grace is the answer
to every need. Grace of God. It was grace that
taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and
snares, I have already come. It's grace that brought me safe
thus far. It's grace that will lead me
home. I want to give you seven things
and I'll close from Matthew 11. Will you turn to Matthew 11?
Matthew chapter 11, the Lord Jesus Christ here gives us seven
things about the grace of God. I think this is a worthy outline
to be looked into and to be considered and to be remembered if God gives
us the grace. Even that, it's by His grace
I remember anything. It's by His grace I understand
anything. It's only by His grace that I
comprehend anything. Man cannot comprehend God except
by His grace. In Matthew 11, 25, the first
thing I see here, now watch, this is important. Here is the
spirit in which to regard the sovereign grace of God. Our Lord
Jesus Christ at that time, verse 25, answered and said, I thank
thee, I thank thee, O Lord, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you hear these things from the wise and prudent, and you reveal
them to babes, I thank you, I thank you. Thank God, he's purposed
to say. Thank God He elected a people. Thank God that He didn't leave
us in our sins. Thank God that He didn't leave
us in our rebellion like He did the angels of old. Thank God
He chose us. If you haven't noticed this,
now here are two things that I noticed in particular. When
Paul writes about the Lord choosing a people for His glory, Paul
nearly always, when he mentions election, he does it with thanksgiving. In Ephesians, which I read a
moment ago, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who chose us. In 2 Thessalonians 2.13, Beloved,
I thank God for you, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. Every time Paul mentions election,
practically every time, he usually is giving thanks for God's elective
grace. When we preach it today, men
get angry. They don't give thanks, they
get angry. They don't praise God, they find
fault. Now that's hard to understand.
And here the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 11 verse 25 says,
I thank you, Father. I thank you you've revealed this
to babes. I thank you in your good pleasure
you passed by some, but you didn't pass by all of them. I thank
you, Father, that you've chosen me. I'll tell you something else
that's interesting. Nearly every time Paul mentions election,
he's thanking God And he's talking about that election leading to
godliness, holiness, and righteousness nearly every time. He said, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings, and the heavenlies in Christ,
according as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy. I'm bound to give thanks 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, nearly every time. Paul mentions
election, he mentions praising God and righteous living. Nearly every time, now listen
to me, that we preach it today, men get angry and they start
talking about this doctrine will lead to sin. You ever notice
that? That's two things that will crop
up. You mention out on the job, you mention in a church, the
doctrine of election, the doctrine of God choosing a people, and
somebody will get angry. You won't hear people, you'll
get into argument and anger and harsh words and divisions. You won't hear anybody saying,
Praise God! Woo! Praise God! He chose the people.
And then you'll hear this guy over here say, that kind of doctrine
will lead to lasciviousness, that kind of doctrine will lead
to licentiousness, that kind of doctrine will lead to sin,
that kind of doctrine will lead to carelessness and indifference.
That's not what Paul said. Chosen that we should be holy.
Thank God. All right, notice the second
thing, and I'll hurry. First, we have the spirit in
which sovereign grace is to be received with thanksgiving. Secondly,
we have the author of grace. I thank thee, Father. I thank thee, Father. All of
this is of God. God chose us, God called us,
God loved us. Now listen to me, and I'll help
you here. It is true that every believer
does choose God. One time we sang that song somewhere
in the church, I Choose Jesus. You ever hear that song, When
I Need a Friend? And somebody got upset. Well,
I don't sing songs like that. Now wait a minute. Hold on here.
Let's don't become fatalists. I did choose Jesus, but he chose
me first. One time I preached a sermon
on sinners ought to seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. That's all. All the way through
that sermon, I cried for men and women, boys and girls, to
seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. Cry out to God. I preached the sermon, Five Things
That A Lost Sinner Can Do. Two or three people got mad at
me. I mean, friends. I mean, sovereign gracers, brothers.
They said, Man can't seek God. Now, wait a minute. Hold on.
The Bible doesn't say a man can't seek God. It says he won't. I
did seek the Lord, and you better seek Him too. But I'll tell you
this, those who seek Him effectually, He sought them first. You see,
that's the difference. And I say to you tonight, I love
the Lord. Some of you think you're being
presumptuous to say, I love the Lord. Well, I do love the Lord.
Peter said, Lord, you know one thing, you know I love you. Don't
love him like I ought to, don't love him like I want to, don't
love him like I expect to, but I love him, but I love him because
he loved me first. Now brethren, let's get this
thing clear. Christ said to his disciples,
you have not chosen me, but they did choose him. I chose you first. I loved you first. We love Him
because He first loved us. Turn to Romans 13. This will
help you a little bit. Romans 13. And don't be afraid
to preach a sermon to call on men to repent. They better repent. Romans chapter 10, if you will. They better repent. Don't be
afraid to preach a sermon and call on men to seek the Lord.
They better seek the Lord. Brother, He is not obligated
to save you, but you better seek Him. You better seek Him. Don't
be afraid to call on men to love Christ and to choose Christ and
to believe on Christ and to run after Christ and to lay hold
on Christ. Just know this, that if they
do, He laid hold on them first. He loved them first. Now look
at verse 13 of Romans 10. Verse 12, there is no difference
between the Jew and the Gentile. The same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon Him. Whosoever, that's a big word,
whosoever Jew, Gentile, white, black, rich, poor, short, tall,
old, young, black, white, wise or unwise, free or born, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He'll hear
you. God have mercy a thief called
on him one time in the eleventh hour of his life and he heard
him. A publican, a despised, wretched publican cried on him,
called on him and he heard him. A harlot called on him. A blind
Bartimaeus called on him. A Zacchaeus called on him. You
call on him. But how are you going to call
on him if you don't believe in him? How are you going to believe
on him if you don't hear of him? And how are you going to hear if
somebody don't preach to you? And how is somebody going to
preach to you unless God sends him? So my friend, listen to
me. Way back yonder, when this whole
thing started, God had a purpose. And I recognized just as much
as one day the Lord Jesus Christ went there in that garden and
fell on His knees to pray. And a bunch of soldiers came
pushing their way through the leaves and through the trees
with lanterns and swords and staves and spears. And they came
and He said, Whom seek ye? And they said, We seek Jesus
of Nazareth. He said, I'm He. And they laid
hold on Him and took Him down there high priest's place, and
then to the pilot's hall, and then to the soldier's hall, and
beat him, and spat upon him, and persecuted him, and mocked
him, and ridiculed him, and then they took him on trial, and they
took him down the hill, and nailed him to the cross, and they took
him down to the cross and put him in a tomb. But everything
they did, God determined before to be done. Do you believe that?
That's what this book says, whether you believe it or not. Some fellow
down at the foot of the cross said, Don't tear that robe. That's
a seamless garment. I've never seen one like it.
Now, he didn't read the Bible and find out he was supposed
to say that, Rodney. He just came to his own wicked
mind. Don't tear that robe. Let's cast lots for it. And they
cast lots. One thousand years before that,
David said, They cast lots for my garment. They plucked out his beard. You
know, the man didn't read the Bible to find out he was supposed
to do that. The Bible said they plucked out his beard, pierced
his hands and feet, sold him for thirty pieces of silver.
All of that, and I'm saying this to you, the author of divine
grace is God the Father. And I come to you tonight as
His servant preaching this message And this message was born a long
time ago. And this congregation was in
the mind and purpose of God brought together a long time ago. And
what you do with this message was decreed a long time ago. Huh? Oh, that's so. There's nothing left to chance.
It's not blind faith in which we trust. It's grace. It's the grace of God. It's the
purpose and plan of Almighty God. All right, the third thing
about this, Matthew 11. First of all, the spirit in which
grace is to be received. Thank you, Father. And the author
of it is the Father. And what's this third thing?
His right to do what He will. Now, my friend, let me tell you
something. Does God have the power to do what he will? He
does if he's God. Secondly, does God have the right
to do what he will? Well, he does if he's God. Now
listen to this. Scripture says, Can I not do
with my own what I will? Huh? What's your answer to that?
Our Lord gave a... Here's where that came from.
I believe that's in Matthew 20. I'm not sure. Matthew 20, yeah,
verse 15. Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with my own? Is your eye evil because I'm
good? The Lord gave a parable one time. He said a fellow owned
a big vineyard. Went out one morning. Some fellow
standing around. Went out at 6 o'clock in the
morning. Some fellow standing around. He said, you fellows
want to work? Well, they said, yeah, we'll work. Will you work
for a penny a day? Now, a penny is a whole lot of
money then. We'd say, let's change that so you can get the right
idea. You want to work for $30? Boy, we sure will. Come on. Took him down, put him
to work. Worked all day, $30. Picked the
grapes. You got your deal, boss. Went
to work. Oh, about 9 o'clock he went down
to the park again, saw some more fellas sitting there. I said,
you fellas want to work? Yeah, we'd like to work, 9 o'clock
in the morning. You work for $30 a day? We sure will. I've
been here, it's right down the road there. Go down there and
start work. They did. About 12 o'clock, he went out
there again. All that gang out there working.
He went down there and he said, you saw some more men. I said,
you fellas want to work? Sure do. $30 a day? $30. I'll
work for $30. 12 o'clock now, did you know
that? It's all right. Pay you $30.
They started working. About 5 o'clock in the evening,
about an hour before quitting time, he went down to the park
and he found four or five fellas sitting around there. Been there
all day and hadn't seen him. He said, you fellas want to work?
Yes, sir. Will you work for $30? We sure will. All right, 6 o'clock
came. All the men came out of the vineyard.
Here they come, all of them. Some of them he hired at 6, 9,
12, 3, 5. Just one guy had just been there an hour. They all
came out and he started paying them. Every one of them, thirty
dollars, thirty dollars, thirty dollars. Those fellows that went
to work at six turned around and said, Hey, wait a minute.
That fellow didn't work but an hour. He got thirty dollars. I worked all day long and I just
got thirty dollars. And the Lord looked at him and
said, What did you agree to work for? He said, Thirty dollars.
He said, What did you get? Thirty dollars. Can I not do
with my own what I will? What's that right there? Is your
eye evil because I'm good? Huh? Oh, he's the potter. We're the
clay. You better remember that, big
boy. Turn to Romans 9. I know you deserve a bigger crown
than I do because you've been on the battlefield longer than
I have. Oh, my, my, my. Romans chapter
9, let's look at this, verse 20. Oh man, just who are you? Just who are you that answereth
or disputeth with God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it? Romans 9, 20. Why did you make
me like this? Doth not the putter have power
over the clay of the same lump of the same daddy, make one vessel
under honor and another under dishonor. Huh? I know you say, that's hard.
No, that's not hard. That's a prerogative that you
exercise every day. Can I not do with my own what
I will? You want to part your hair in
the middle? You part it in the middle. It ain't nobody's business, is
it? If you want to take your car
and drag strip it up the hill and burn your tires up, burn
them up. It's your tires. And yet we deny God the same
right to do with His own what He will. It's mine. How many times have you said
that in your lifetime? Well, it's mine. If I want to give it away,
I'll give it away. It's mine. Well, I'll tell you
this, this world belongs to my Lord. Then he has all power over
all flesh that he'll give eternal life to the many as God gave
him. Now, you better remember that. He'll do with his own what
he will. That's so. All right, Matthew
11 again. Let's look at this. First, here's
the spirit in which to look at sovereign grace. I thank you.
Here's the author of it, the Father. Here's his right to act
as he will. He's Lord of heaven and earth.
He's Lord of heaven and earth. All right, the fourth thing,
here's the objects of his grace. You've hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Babes see truth because it's
revealed to them. The wise and prudent cannot see
the truth for they trust in their own light. and their own knowledge,
which is darkness." That's right. The Lord is nigh unto them of
a broken heart. He saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit. Turn to the book of Daniel just
a moment. Let me show you something here.
Daniel, if you will, chapter 4. Daniel chapter 4. Pride, my friend, is a fatal,
fatal spirit. Pride goes before destruction,
the Holy Spirit before the fall. And this is what we're talking
about. God gives grace to the humble. He rejected and resisted
the proud. We need to learn this. The Pharisees
were proud men. The highlights and publicans
were humble men and winded. And here we have in Daniel 4
in verse 29. We'll look at this a moment.
At the end of twelve months, Nebuchadnezzar walked in the
palace of the kingdom of Babylon, and he said, ìIs not this great
Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the
might of my power, for the honor of my majesty?î While the word
was in the kingís mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying,
ìKing Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken. The kingdom has
departed from you. They'll drive you from men, and
your dwelling will be with the beast of the field. They'll make
you to eat grass as oxen. Seven times shall pass over thee,
till you know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and gives it to whomsoever He will." That's the lesson that
is learned in grace. God rules, and He gives it to
whom He will. And verse 34 said, ìAt the end
of the days I and Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes, my understanding
returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and honored Him
that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. His
kingdoms from generation to generation and all the inhabitants of this
earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His
will in the army of heaven among the inhabitants of this earth,
and none can stand to Him, stay His hand, or say unto Him, ìWhat
are you doing?î It's praise God whatever you do. And that's what our Lord's saying
here. He's hid it from the wise and prudent, the rebellious and
the proud. And He's revealed it to those
simple children who are willing to say, God's will be done. Look at the fifth thing quickly.
Here's the reason for His grace, verse 26, the reason for grace. Even so, Father, it seemed good
in your sight. I can't go any further than that. And that's good enough for every
obedient son of God. Preacher, why did God permit
the fall? It seemed good in his sight.
Why did God permit Saul of Tarsus to persecute Christians and to
help stone Stephen? It seemed good in his sight.
Why did God choose me and pass by my sister or brother or relative? It seemed good in his sight.
That's the only answer Christ gave. I thank you, Lord of heaven
and earth. You hid these things from the
wise and prudent and you reveal it to me because it seemed good
in your sight. Now watch this, 6 in the 6th
place. Here's the channel of all grace.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father. Here's the Spirit. Thank you, Father. The author
of grace, the Father. The objects of grace, the poor.
The reason for grace, it seemed good in His sight. And here,
the channel, it's all in Christ. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. All things are put in the hands
of Christ. All things that pertain to God and all things that pertain
to me. The honoring of the law was put
into the hands of Christ. The satisfying of God's justice
was put in the hands of Christ. The reconciling of a holy God
to sinners was put in the hands of Christ. The mediatorial work
put in the hands of Christ. The redemption of sinners, the
sanctification of sinners, the justification of sinners, the
calling of sinners, the keeping of sinners, and the glorification
of sinners all put in the hands of Christ. Everything delivered
unto me of my Father. And no man knows the Son but
the Father, and no man knows the Father but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal Him. He to whom the Son will reveal
Him. Now, in the seventh place, and
here's what the average religionist can't comprehend. He says, how
do you preach? God chose a people and then turned
right around and tells people to come to God. Christ did it. He just got through saying, now
watch this. He rebuked these cities in which His mighty works
were done. And then He stopped and He said, I thank your Father,
Lord of Sovereign of heaven and earth. Because you hid these
things, these things, gospel, truth, righteousness, salvation,
from the wise and prudent and you revealed it to them because
it seemed good in your sight. And Father, you put everything
in my hands. You've delivered everything into
my hands and none of these sons of Adam ever will know you unless
I reveal you to them. And then in that same words,
he looked and he said, come to me. All you that labor and are
heavy laden, are you laboring, heavy laden, confused, distressed,
bereaved, in despair, sinful, unable to do anything? You come
to me and I'll give you rest. The one who knows the Father's
purpose says come. The one who is the surety of
the Father's purpose says come. The one who has all power and
authority to make men come says come. The one who died and rose again
and is even now seated at the right hand of God says to every
sinner, come and I'll give you rest. Quit trying to reconcile
truth and start believing it. Quit trying to explain the Word
of God and receive it. Quit trying to comprehend and
understand and bring God down because you can't see God as
where He is. Don't redesign Him and bring
Him down and make Him what you want Him to be. Just bow by faith
and believe God. I don't understand everything
in this book. If I did, I'd be God. I don't
even hope to understand it all. But I believe it. And I'll tell
you this. The more I believe it, the more
I understand it. That's right. A lot of these
things back years ago, when we first started looking into them,
they were quite confusing. But more and more, I'll tell
you the truth, I've got so far to go, I feel like I've just
walked in the door, but I'm understanding more and more. I'm understanding
more and more. God is almighty. Man's so far
from God. And the only one who can bring
us together is the Lord Jesus Christ. And He has to do it of
His own initiative. He has to do it of His own power.
He has to do it of His own will, because I don't have any power.
I don't have any will to come. Christ said, You will not come
to me. So somebody's got to come down here and get me. And if
He comes and gets me, it's on purpose. Not an accident. He didn't just happen to pass
by. He did it on purpose. But now, I'll call on Him, and
I'll hold on to Him, and I'll keep the faith. He'll keep me,
and I'll keep holding to Him. He will not leave me, I will
not leave Him. He will not forsake me, I will
not forsake Him. He will keep me in paths of righteousness,
and Cecil, I will stay in paths of righteousness. He'll keep
me in the truth, and I'll stay in the truth. And one of them
is just so is the other one. This is what the people couldn't
understand about this man Spurgeon. The fatalist said he's an Arminian,
and the Arminian said he's a fatalist. And nobody could understand the
man, just like nobody understood Christ. And nobody understands
a believer. A believer understands, but he's
not understood. I brought a message on that not
long ago. But he understands, and he understands it more and
more. It's by grace. Thank God for His grace. Our
Father in Heaven, we thank You. Oh, that we could say what's
in our heart. But we are on good ground to
borrow the words of our Master. I thank thee, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the
wise and the prudent, and you have revealed them to babes,
for even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. This is restful
and comforting. and a joy to our heart to know
that you have not passed us by. You've given us a delight in
Thy grace and a love for Thy grace and confidence in Thy grace
and dependence on Thy grace. Be our teacher and grant unto
us the willing spirit of a disciple and learner. We want to learn. We want to
know. for our good and for Thy glory. And we pray this for Christ's
sake. Amen. Let's sing that amazing
grace, Ronnie, if you will, as our closing hymn. Amazing grace. What number is that? 236. Let's stand, please.