How to Recognize the Elect

I wouldn't object if you took some notes this morning
on this message. I wish some of you would. You know, the Bereans, it is
said, went home and searched the scriptures to see if these
things be so. I'd be a fool to want you or
expect you to believe anything just because
I said it, and you'd be a fool to believe it. Our eternal, immortal,
eternity-bound souls are worth a whole lot more than to just
trust them in the care of a fallible creature, blindly following no
man, blindly following no no creed or doctrine that is put forth by man. So
these things that we need to be careful what we say. Not only
are we preaching as one that must give an account, but we're
preaching to people who must give an account. Take heed what
you hear, our Lord said. How you hear, what you hear.
I'm going to make some statements. I'll make them with emphasis
so you'll know what to write down. You won't be able to write
down the whole message, but by way of introducing the message,
A, the Apostle Paul was looking for God's elect. The Apostle Paul was looking
for God's elect. He knew God had an elect people. He knew that. Because he said
over in Romans 11, verse 5, he said in Romans 11, verse 5, listen
to this, "...even so then, at this present time also there
is a remnant according to the election of grace." He said all
Israel is not going to be saved, just a remnant, and that according
to the election of God's grace. You read chapter 11 of Romans.
And then he said, at this present time, there's an election, a
remnant according to the election of grace. So he knew God had
an elect people. I know it. He knew it. And he
knew that those elect people must hear the gospel. They have
to hear the gospel. Elect or not, a man's not going
to be saved if he doesn't hear the gospel. He said in Romans 10, verse 13,
"...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." But how are they going to call on him in whom they've
not believed? And how are they going to believe
in him of whom they've not heard? And how are they going to hear
without a preacher? Paul knew that. He knew that the gospel
is the power of God unto salvation. He knew that. He knew that the
elect must hear the gospel. They must hear the gospel, not
a gospel, not some gospel, THE gospel. Got to hear it. I can't explain that. And I'm
going to try to explain that. I can't explain the Trinity.
I can't explain God's love for sinners. I can't explain those
things. I believe them. I can't explain
how that while the Holy Spirit is the agent in the new birth,
the Word of God is the instrument, the seed. There is no life without
a seed. There's no life in the flesh
without a seed. The seed must be planted. And
there's no life in the spirit without a seed. And preachers
can run all over the country talking about a begetting before
birth. All right, there must be a begetting
before bringing forth. But that seed is the Word of
God. Christ is our life, and without Christ you have no life.
If you don't have Christ, if you don't know Christ, if you
haven't heard the gospel of Christ, if you haven't believed on Christ,
if you haven't received Christ, you're dead. That's so. You don't have any life. Christ
is our life, and the seed is the Word. Men must hear the gospel.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, Romans 1 16. It is the power
of God unto salvation. That's so, the gospel. And there'll
be nobody in glory who hadn't heard the gospel and believed
it, consciously, willingly, intelligently received it. All right? The fourth thing, 2 Timothy. Turn over to 2 Timothy a minute.
Paul was willing to endure all things to preach the gospel to
God's elect. He was willing to, he knew God
had an elect. He knew that they had to hear the gospel, for the
gospel is the power of God to salvation. But 2 Timothy 2.10,
therefore, he's been talking about all the trouble he's suffered,
all of the things he's endured. He says, I endure all things
for their sake, for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. That's
why I'm doing it. When I call on you to give for
missions, you're doing it for God's glory, of course. I trust. But you're doing it for the elect's
sake. God has some people down there in Merida, Motul, Isamal,
Bangor, Belfast, Dublin, Limerick, Montpelier, Monticello, Marseille,
God has people, Barcelona, Valencia, Carcahente, he's got people there.
And we're doing it for their sake, that they may hear this
gospel. They've got to hear it. Now don't
you ever sit down in a rocking chair and fold your arms and
say, well, God's going to save them, he'll save them. That was
what some of our Baptist forefathers ran into when they first started
sending mission. And William Carey wanted to go
out to the mission field. Some of the brethren said, well,
God won't save those Hindus or Buddhists. He'll save them without
you. No, he won't either. Now, here's the second thing.
Now, that was number one. God, Paul knew God had an elect
he was looking for. All right? Secondly, the elect
of God will hear the gospel. Now, hold on to your pew. It
wouldn't shock you, but I want you to think this over. Don't
you come out with an objection if you hadn't thought about it.
And don't you come out with an objection until you do a little
thinking about it, a little study. The elect of God will hear the
gospel from an elect preacher. That's so. Men don't accidentally
come to know God. And they don't come to know God
hearing about a false god. And they don't come to know the
gospel of Christ by hearing another gospel. I know we like to think
that. We like to think, well, God will
draw a straight line with a crooked stick. You find that in God's
Word. How shall they hear? Now listen
to me, listen to the Scripture. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? In him, not a Jesus, not some
Jesus, The Christ of the Bible. And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be what? Sent. That's what this word says. There was a man sent from God
whose name was John. Why weren't the Jews converted,
Bob, unto the Pharisees then? Why did they have to hear John? Why weren't the Jews converted
unto the scribes? Why did they have to hear Paul?
These men were preachers. Why weren't they converted under
the Sadducees? Cecil, they preached, they taught
scriptures. Why weren't they converted? Why
didn't these people come to call on Christ? Why did John, why
did he have to choose twelve apostles? Why did he have to
send Paul? I'll tell you why, I'll give
you four reasons. Here are the marks of an elect preacher. I'll
give you four reasons. Here are the marks of an elect
preacher. Number one down here in verse 5, Paul said, I know
your election, brethren, because our gospel, that's the first
mark of an elect preacher. Every true preacher can call
the gospel his gospel. His gospel. It's my gospel, Paul
said. What do you mean by that? I've
tasted of it. I've been redeemed by it. I've partaken of it. It's my
gospel. God can't give you a drink of
water out of a glass until he fills the glass. He's got to
put something in that vessel before it can give you anything.
If that gospel is full of poison, you're going to be poisoned.
That's right. If that gospel is full of evil,
that's what you're going to get is evil. You can't get fresh
water out of a salt water fountain or salt water out of a fresh
water fountain. And if this fountain is full
of deceit, that's what you're going to have. I hear people say, well, I stay
in that church. I know they're not preaching
anything, but it's my home church and I've got a Sunday school
class. You drink water from a poisoned
vessel, that's what you're going to get. That's so. Your preacher is not preaching
the gospel. You'd better skeedaddle out of there as quick as you
can. You listen to a minister of Satan, you will be a follower
of a minister of Satan. I know those are hard words,
but they're so. The Apostle said, We believe and therefore we speak. We speak those things which we've
seen and heard. What Ralph used to say, you can't
tell what you don't know. Any more and you can come back
from where you hadn't been. Listen to David. I believe, therefore
have I spoken. The first mark of an elect preacher
is that the gospel is his gospel. It's his gospel. That's what
he called it, our gospel. Sure, it's the gospel of God.
It's the gospel of God's glory, the gospel of God's grace. But
my brethren, it's my gospel because it's redeemed me and it's cleansed
me and it's given me hope and it's given me grace and it's
given me mercy. It's my gospel. I'm preaching
my gospel. The second mark of an elect preacher,
he'll preach the Word of God. He'll major on the Word of God.
His lips will flow with the Word of God. That will be the very
essence of his ministry, just Scripture, Scripture, Scripture,
all the time. Let me show you where that comes
from in Ezekiel 2. Turn to Ezekiel 2. Let me show
you something. This is beautiful here, Ezekiel
2. Now, Paul said our gospel didn't come to you in word only,
but it did come in word. It has to come in word. That's
the way God sends it, in word. His word. His word. That's how
our gospel is preached. His word. Not my logic, reasoning. Not my understanding. Now, this
is the way I think it is, friend. No, that's not the way God relates. His word. And an elect preacher
will preach God's word. Listen to Ezekiel 2. Verse 9,
you over there? Ezekiel 2.9, Now when I looked,
behold, a hand was sent unto me, and lo, a roll of a book
was therein. And he spread it before me. It
was written within and without. And it was written therein lamentations,
and mourning, and woe. Moreover, he said to me, Son
of man, eat, eat that thou findest, eat this roll, and then go speak
to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth. And he
caused me to eat that roll. And he said, Son of man, cause
thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I
give thee. Then did I eat it. It was in my mouth as honey for
sweetness. And he said to me, Son of man,
now you go, get thee into the house of Israel, and speak with
my words unto them." This is the reason that we've got no
cause for a young man to walk down the aisle and make a profession.
He may be saved. He may be saved. and then put
him up preaching God's Word. You've got to fill this vessel
with God's Word. You've got to eat it. It's got
to fill the belly, it's got to fill the bowels, it's got to
fill the mind, it's got to fill the heart, so that when that
elect preacher, that man sent of God, he doesn't go forth with
a recipe handed down by some professional soul winner, A,
B, C, D, He doesn't go forth to just win proselytes or make
Baptists out of people. He goes forth saturated, filled
with the Word of God. And as he speaks to a man, the
Word flows out. Go and preach my Word to him. Now I know this professor down
at the Bible conference last week, this brother Sproul, he
said seminaries are finished. They're finished. All we lack
now is just to bury them. He's a professor in a seminary,
Grace Theological Seminary, one on the lake, professor of Greek
and Hebrew. He said they're through. They're
finished. You're not going to train God's
preachers in seminaries anymore. Because the seminaries are busy
teaching them philosophy and rhetoric and hermeneutics and
all of prophecy and promotion and planning and all these things.
They're not taking this roll and opening the mouth, putting
it in, eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it, digest it, fill your
belly with it, your bowels with it, your heart with it, your
mind with it. and then go out when it's filled and digest,
you go out and it'll flow from there. And where are we going
to train preachers? Churches. That's where they're
going to have to train them. That's what he said, that's what I believe.
I've believed that a long time. Preachers are going to have to
come, men who feel they're called of God to preach, they're going
to have to come and sit under somebody who's already called
of God. Paul had his Timothy. Elijah
had his Elisha. Always true. The Lord had his
disciples. In the English seminary, Timothy
sat and listened to Paul. And he got saturated with this
roll. He ate it. Filled his belly with
it. The Word, the Word of God. Preacher
doesn't have to know how to pave a parking lot. He just needs
to know how to preach the gospel. He doesn't need to know how to
hold his cup with his little finger sticking out, you know,
so as not to offend the ladies' pink tea society. He needs to
know how to preach. He needs to know what Paul meant
when he said there's no difference between the Jew and the good.
He needs to know what that means and preach it. How to tell an elect preacher?
He preaches the Word. And thirdly, his words will go
forth in power. Paul said, our gospel, our gospel,
mine. It came not to you in word only,
it did come that way in the Word of God, but it came to you in
power, power, power. Not the power of persuasion,
the power of the Spirit. The natural man received it,
not the thing. You see what I'm talking about to you young ministers
about the Word of God? Every time you say something,
nail it down with the Scripture. I say that this is what I said,
God's word goes forth in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's
nail it down with a scripture. I have not seen, you have not
heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man the things God
has prepared for them that love him. But he hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth the things of
God, yea, the deep things of God. The natural man receiveth
not the things of God, they're foolishness to him, neither can
he know them, they're spiritually understood. So God's Word, when
we preach it, it must go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Barnard said one time, he said he heard something that changed
his whole ministry. He said he was reading a little
book by somebody, I forget who it was, but this little book
said this, Preacher, if your voice is the only voice men hear, nothing of any eternal value
will be accomplished, nothing. If your voice, they must hear
him speak who speaks through his word. That's right. And that'll change your ministry
when you learn it. It's not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit. I don't care how suave you are. I don't care how tactful you
are. I don't care how talented or
gifted you are as a speaker. I don't care how persuasive you
are. I do not care how many followers
you have. You're just a sounding brass
and a tinkling cymbal if the Holy Ghost It doesn't take God's
Word and pierce the heart. You just preach to men's ears.
That's deep as you can go. God is the one who takes it down
here and hammers and molds and shaves. That old sinner, you
tell him he's a sinner and he goes off. Yeah, that's so, but
if God tells him he's a sinner, he goes off weeping. He goes
off weeping. And then the next thing about
that elect preacher, the fourth thing, is his life and motive
and methods will be in harmony with his message. Paul said,
here, our gospel is my gospel. And it comes to you in word,
not in word only, but in power. And then the last line, he said,
you know what manner of men we were among you. You know my motives. You know my methods. You know
what manner of man I was. I wasn't greedy of your filthy
lucre. I wasn't greedy of what I could get from you. I wasn't
interested. Paul said, I even made tents
to support myself. I wasn't interested in your possessions,
and I wasn't interested in your praise, he said. I seek not the
praise of men. Oh, it's nice for folks to like
you and appreciate you. I had a birthday yesterday. I
was 52, and I got some sweet and some not-so-sweet cards.
that I appreciated every one of them. Just so thankful somebody,
you know, cares. You go out of the service and
say, I appreciate the message. That's good. Boy, that thrills
me. But I'm not seeking that. If
you went out mad, that'd be all right too. I wouldn't like it,
but it'd have to be all right. I'm not going to change my message.
I'm not going to change my message. Woe unto me if I preach not the
gospel. That's what Paul said. You know what manner of man I
am among you. Not seeking your possessions
or your praise or any of those things. I'm trying to preach
what God says here. So Paul, the elect preacher,
endured all things. He was burdened. He was burdened.
He preached the gospel to every creature, but he was looking
for God's elect. That's who he was looking for.
Turn to Acts chapter 18. I want you to look at this a
minute now, Acts chapter 18. Acts the 18th chapter. Paul was
just about to leave a place, verse 9. He was just about to
leave this place and God spoke to him. Acts 18, 9. The Lord
spoke to Paul that night in a vision. He said, Paul, don't be afraid,
but speak and hold not thy peace. I'm with you. No man is going
to sit on you to hurt you. I have much people in this city.
So Paul continued there a year and six months teaching the Word
of God among them. Why'd Paul have to stay? He's
God's preacher. He's God's preacher. And this
is what I'm saying, and you do with it what you will, but God
has an elect people, and they're going to hear the gospel from
an elect preacher. They're going to hear the gospel. Stay down there, Paul. He stayed
there 18 months because God had much people in that city. Oh, he'll raise up elect deacons
and elect elders and elect Sunday school teachers, but God's people,
God's children are going to hear the pure gospel. They're going
to hear it from the lips of one who's sent providentially and
on purpose and powerfully by God Almighty. This is why we
must not despise the preaching of the gospel. God is chosen
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That's the reason we must be
busy preaching, too. You love me? You love me, Peter?
Yes, I do. Well, feed my sheep. So here in 1 Thessalonians, Paul,
the elect preacher, went to the people and he preached. Now,
let's see how to recognize the elect people. Quickly. He said,
first of all, they heard the gospel not in word only, but
they heard it in power, in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance.
Now listen to me. Quickly, listen. The same gospel
comes to the unregenerate, which comes to the regenerate. There's
no difference. In other words, in this building
this morning, there are people who are regenerate and there
are people who are unregenerate. There are believers and unbelievers.
You're hearing the same thing. You're hearing the same words.
The difference is how it's received. The difference is the way in
which it's received. To the unregenerate, that's all
you're hearing is words. That's all you're hearing. You're
hearing words. And depending on how intelligent or how smart
you are, you'll remember these words. And you could go out and
tell someone these words that I said. But to the believer,
to the elect, this gospel comes to them not in word only. But
it comes to them in three things, in power, that is the power of
understanding. I see, oh I see, I hear, I believe,
I see in this gospel the wisdom of God, I see how God can be
just and justify the ungodly, I see that, power of understanding. The power of understanding. Power
upon your understanding. I see how we fell in Adam, how
we were represented in Adam. I see how we were restored in
Christ. I see that. I understand that.
The gospel came to you not just in words, but in power, in the
power of understanding, in power upon your conscience to convince
you of sin. Power upon your feelings to cause
you to weep. Power upon your life to cause
you to seek God. Power! You see that? Our gospel
came to you, not in word only, but in power. Power upon your
understanding. Power upon your conscience. Power
upon your feeling. Power upon your life. Power upon
your personality to change you. Our gospel came to you in power.
It came to you in the Holy Ghost. I can't describe how the Holy
Ghost works for the Word of God, but I know we're born of the
Spirit and of the Word. And I know that God's Holy Spirit
quickens through the Word. He reveals Christ through the
Word. He convicts of sin through the Word. He takes these words,
the Word of God, and he uses these words, the Word of God,
the words that are preached by faithful men, and he does what
he's sent to do using those words. Can't explain that, I just know
it so. He hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the word
of God. You didn't only hear it with
power and the Holy Ghost, but you heard it in much assurance.
What does this mean? I see two things. First, I'm
fully persuaded. I'm assured that this is the
truth. It's the truth. It's the truth. I'm not assured that what these
religious hucksters are putting off on the American people is
true. I'm just convinced that's not true. But I'm sure, I'm convinced
this is true. I'm assured of it. I've heard
it with assurance. And I also am fully persuaded
not only of the truth of it, but of my interest in it. I know
I believe it. I'm assured of that. All right? Knowing your election of God.
Paul said, I know your election because our gospel didn't come
to you just in words. I see some power. Holy Ghost
work. I see some confidence and assurance.
Oh, you know you're a sinner. There's nothing good about you.
You're imperfect. But you know Christ is your hope.
All right? Here's the second thing, and
I won't keep you long. You became followers of us and
the Lord. Verse 6, you became followers.
That's a mark of God's elect. This is what our Lord said about
his sheep. He said, they hear my voice. They hear my voice. They hear the word. And they
what? They follow me. They follow me. This is identification with Christ.
He was identified with us. He was numbered with the transgressors.
Brethren, I'm going to be identified with him. I want the world to
know, first of all, by baptism. I hear this gospel. I hear it
with power, my understanding, my conscience, my life. I hear
it with power upon my personality. And if I become a follower now
of this gospel which I believe, I'm assured it's true and I'm
assured of my interest. So first, I go into the baptismal
waters and I tell the whole congregation, I'm identified with Christ. I'm
following Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. I'm
walking with the King. I'm a follower of Christ. I'm
identified with him in the gospel of grace. I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. Now, I'd like to get along with everybody. You
would too. I believe the gospel of God's
grace, and I want the world to know it. I'm going to follow
the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles. I'm not going to follow
human leaders. I'm going to follow the apostles.
You became followers of us and the Lord. I'm going to follow
the scripture. I'm going to be identified with
his people. I'm going to be identified with him and his sufferings. endure some conflict in the family,
in the social circle, I'd be all right too. You know, they
tell me that song, Must Jesus bear the cross alone, somebody
check up on this, I heard that when that was originally written,
It didn't say, must Jesus bear the cross alone. It says, must
Simon. Did you ever hear that, Gerald?
Must Simon bear the cross alone. Check up on that. See, I never
did like the song like it's written. Must Jesus bear. I can't bear
his cross. His cross is a cross of substitution. His cross is a cross of sin offering. I can't bear his cross. But I
can be identified with him in bearing the cross like Simon
was. Simon was identified with Christ's cross, but Simon was
identified, but Simon bear the cross alone and all the world
go free. You know, there's a cross for
everyone, there's a cross for me. I'm gonna be identified with
Christ. Identified with Christ. That's, you became followers
of us and the Lord. Run your flag up. We got a flag
out in our front yard. I'm thankful for the United States
of America. I'm thankful for this country
and With all of its faults, it's still the best. And its government's
still the best. So we proudly display a flag
in our front yard. And I'm also confident that God
is God, and Christ is His Son, and salvation's by grace. And
I'd just like to run a flag up and let everybody know that.
That that's where I stand. I became follower. All right,
look at verse 7. And you became examples. to all
that in Macedonia, and verse 8, you became witnesses. Now
there was a time, there was a time when only God knew that we were
his people, we were secret disciples. The Apostle Paul was a child
of God from his mother's womb, that's what he said, didn't he?
Now he didn't know it, and the folks around him didn't know
it, but God knew it. But there came a time when he knew it and
when the folks around him knew it. And that time's come for
me and you. He said, you became examples.
You became witnesses. People watched you and observed
you. And they said, well, he's been
with Jesus. That's what he said about the disciples. They took
note of them that they'd been with the Lord. And they became
witnesses. The word of God sounded out from
them. This church, this congregation, if you really love the Lord Jesus
Christ and know him, you'll be a witness. You'll be a witness. You'll be an example. People
will be able to know that you are a child of God. I believe
that. I believe they'll show you we have many faults. But
there's a general trend of life, there's a bend of the wheel,
there's a tenor of the life that is recognizable. I don't mean
you have to wear a bonnet and a long black dress to let people
know you're Christian, or live in a farmhouse and ride in a
covered wagon. But your attitude, your integrity,
your honesty, Your straightforwardness, your kindness, your patience,
your faith, these things give you away, don't they? They give
you away. You became examples. You became
witnesses. And you know a witness is not
running up tomorrow. I know they do this in Bible
schools and colleges and all. You've got to go witness to so
many people every day. But you know, to me, if I were
teaching a class on witnessing, I would say this, now you take,
you're a believer. Mike, you're a believer. You'll
be going out next door and you'll be contacting people on your
debit, your insurance work and all, down at your office. And
pray, ask God to give you an effectual door open. Give me an opportunity, not just
the first man I walk up, you born again? You a Christian? Or see somebody smoke a cigarette
and say, if you saved you wouldn't do that. Well, he probably never
will be, you know, if you have anything to do with it. Or somebody
said, did you watch the television show last night? Don't watch
television. Christian don't watch television. Somebody drinking a cup of coffee,
and you get saved, God will deliver you from that, you know, those
kind of things. Well, boy, if there's any enemies of Christ
abroad, they're the ones. That's right. Turn men's stomachs
as well as their heads away from the gospel. But ask God, say,
Lord, give me an effectual door. Let me have an opportunity to
speak to someone this week or this day about the Savior. And someone comes by and says,
how are you this morning? Fine, it's a beautiful day. I
thank God for this beautiful day. That may open a door. Or
you see your buddy, boy, we had a good service yesterday. I wish
you'd come down sometime and hear my preacher. You know, something
like that. We had a good day. God gave us a good service. He
said, did you have a good service at your church? Well, I didn't
go, yes. Well, won't you come sometime? Would you like to hear a tape?
My pastor, I've got a tape in my car there. I'd be glad to
get it for you. There are a lot of ways, without making yourself
obnoxious. without making yourself a proselyter
or someone trying to sell a candidate that nobody believes in. There
are ways that God uses tactful, effectual
witnessing. But pray for God. That's Paul
did. He prayed that God would open
an effectual door. You became a witness. A witness. And then he said in the next
verse, last of all, he said in verse 9, the last line, you turn
from your idols. You turn from your idols to serve
the living and true God. You say, Preacher, we don't have
any idols today. Hold on a minute. Our streets
and houses and homes and churches and shops are full of idols,
just crammed full of them. We may not worship the golden
calf or the calf of gold, but there are a whole lot of us that
worship gold in another form. It's round and flat and it's
got a date on it. Same thing. You might as well
bow before the golden calf. It's just a different shape. That's right. They're those who worship honor,
praise, fame, self, family. Somebody said one time, we may
as well worship snakes and beasts as to worship materialism. Let
me give you three things that Charles Spurgeon said one time.
If I love anything or anyone more than the Lord, I'm an idolater. If there's anything that I would
not be willing to give up for the glory of God, I'm an idolater.
If there's anything I seek more than I seek the glory of God,
this is my idol. You know, I've seen this happen.
I've seen men turn from the idols of the world and worship church
idols. They worship doctrine. They worship
the high seats in the synagogue. I've seen men turn from secular
education and worship religious education. They get the panting
after degrees and recognition and credentials. They get that
same drive that men have over here who want LLDs. We get one
seeking THDs. Just a different idol, that's
all, secular idol or religious idol. Some people turn from pleasures
of the flesh, watch out now, the idols of pleasure to the
idols of Phariseeism. You know you can do that? You
can turn from one idol to another idol. You may have a man that
works with you that has his pleasures, his idol, or you be careful,
religion is not your idol. And I don't mean Christ, I mean
religion, doctrine, Phariseeism, self-righteousness. He said, you turn from these
idols to serve the living God, the living God, to walk with
the living God. And last of all, I close, and here's a mark of
the elect. to wait for his son from heaven. I'm going to put you on this
tonight. To wait for his son from heaven. How do we wait?
Well, we wait first of all in perseverance of faith. Paul says,
I've kept the faith. Faith that is saved now doesn't
require a few minutes decision. Faith that is saved is a lifetime
experience. I wait in faith. We wait for
him to reveal his will. I've got a matter on my heart
for this church, something big, if God's in it, that I want to
talk to the men of this church about. But I don't know whether
it's God's will or not. We've got to find God's will. We need to learn to wait and
pray. Not run before. To wait for his Son. This is
a mark of the elect, I believe, to wait for his Son. To wait
in faith. To wait upon his will. Just wait. And find out his will. And wait
on him to anoint us. This is the thing about witnessing,
Mike, I said a while ago. Can't we wait? on God to anoint
us? Do we have to just run without
being sent and start popping off without having a message?
What are we trying to do, impress people or God? Please people
or God? God has an elect out there, and
we'll just wait on Him. Just wait. Be still and know
that I'm God. Be still. You ever quail hunt? Now they're there. And you rush
into the field, everybody goes running into the field to get
a bird, and nobody gets any bird, but you just wait. You just wait. And the dog goes ahead of you. And he points. And you just be
still now. And wait. And then when you're
ready, that dog goes in there, fly up, and you get him. But
you gotta wait. You stomp around and drive them
away. We wait on God to call us home.
I'm waiting on Him. I'm waiting. He's going to come.
And I'm waiting on Him to come again. I'm waiting on Him. That's
a mark of God's elect. You take these things and look
them over. Come back tonight at 7 o'clock. I'm going to preach
on that 10th verse of the Lord willing. My subject, Christ,
our Body of Divinity. Our Father in Heaven, We want
so much to eat this book, to be saturated with it, to be filled
with it, our belly, our bowels, our innermost being. Fill with
the word the truth of God, that we might be effectual witnesses.
We might be used to preach the truth, the gospel to thine own. Lord, thou art almighty and sovereign.
Be pleased to use us in a way that seems good in thy sight. Lord, bless this message this
morning and anoint us and fill us with our spirit for the service
tonight. Give us a spirit of worship, spirit of hunger and
thirst. Give us a seeking spirit, a quiet spirit of peace and rest,
dedicated to our God. In his name we pray, amen.

How to Recognize the Elect

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How to Recognize the Elect

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