Sermon #80 Series: Isaiah

Title: The Irresistible Call Of the Spirit

Text: Isaiah 30:21

Subject: Effectual Calling

Date: Sunday Evening - June 30, 1991

Tape #

Introduction:

There is a general call that goes forth to all who hear the gospel. God sends his servants out into the highways and hedges to bid all who will to come to Christ. He commands all men everywhere to repent. It is your duty and responsibility to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you trust Christ, you have everlasting life. But if you refuse to trust him, you are without excuse. Your blood is upon your own head. And your damnation is just. God has called you…

· By Conscience.

· By Creation.

· By Providence.

· By the Gospel.

But you have refused. “Therefore,” he says, “shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices” (Pro. 1:31). If you go to hell, you will have no one but yourself to blame. You have heard the gospel call. And you have refused.

Yet, as he preaches the gospel, God’s servant knows that no one will, by his own free will, of his own volition, or by his own choice come to Christ. The gospel preacher knows that no man can come to Christ by nature. He cannot, by his own power, persuade anyone to trust Christ. That is the work of the Spirit of God alone. “It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profitteth nothing” - (John 6:63).

But there is another call, an almighty call of grace, that no one can resist, an effectual, saving call. This call never comes apart from, or without the general call. The Spirit of God does not operate upon the hearts of men and women apart from the Word. Eternal life and faith in Christ are gifts of God, the result of the sovereign operations of grace by the Holy Spirit. But eternal life and faith in Christ are always produced by the Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. We are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever…And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (II Pet. 1:2-3, 20). “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

Proposition: This faith is the fruit and result of the effectual, irresistible call of the Holy Spirit.

That is my subject. I want to preach to you about The Irresistible Call Of the Spirit. My text is Isaiah 30:21 - “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

Because Judah had refused to believe God and rebelled against him, God visited that nation with judgment. But there was an elect remnant to whom God was determined to be gracious. “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” ( Rom. 11:5).

1. There is an elect multitude in this world who must be saved, to whom God will be gracious (v. 19).

· He chose them.

· Christ redeemed them.

· God will be gracious to them and save them.

2. Though God gives his elect the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, it is that he may be gracious to them (v. 20).

· God in providence forces his elect to call upon him (Ps. 107:1-43).

· The Lord God will send his word of grace to the chosen objects of his grace (Jer. 3:15).

Illus: The Ethiopian.

Lydia.

The Jailer.

3. And at the appointed time God will call his elect to Christ by the effectual, irresistible power and grace of the Holy Spirit (v. 21).

This is one of those gracious, unconditional promises upon which the salvation of God’s elect depends. When God calls, sinners hear. The Lord God calls the chosen rebel, and by his word of grace the rebel is brought to bow before his throne in heartfelt repentance. This is how God saves sinners. This is how salvation is wrought in the hearts of God’s elect (John 6:44-45; Rom. 9:16).

Divisions: Now let’s look at The Irresistible Call Of the Spirit as it is described in the text before us. I want to show you four things.

1. The Position Of the Sinner.

2. The Call Of Grace.

3. The Word Of the Call.

4. The Success Of the Word.

I. First, our text describes THE POSITION OF THE SINNER to whom God is pleased to be gracious.

Where does God find those to whom he will be gracious? What position are they in when he calls them? Does he find them seeking him? Does he find them searching for him? What do the Scriptures say?

A. Our text declares that when God calls sinners, he finds them with their backs turned to him - (Ps. 14:1-3; Isa. 53:6).

The word of grace is heard “behind thee.” We have all, by nature gone away from God. We have turned, every one, to his own way. And our way is away from God. The Lord God complains, “They have turned unto me the back, and not the face” (Jer. 32:33).

1. We turned our backs upon God - That is our sin!

2. But God would not turn his back upon us - That is grace!

What matchless grace this is! God calls after sinners, though they openly renounce his rule, flee from his mercy, and spurn his grace. Instead of leaving us to our own devices, he would not let us go.

B. Those whom God says he will call had not only turned their backs upon him, but were going further and further away from him.

Once you turn your back from here, the further you go away from here. And having turned your back upon God from the beginning (Ps. 58:3), you go further and further away from him with every breath of unbelief.

It was while we were going, as fast as we could, away from God, away from Christ, away from life, rushing headlong into hell that our hearts were arrested by his word of grace.

1. We had a will to roam; but God had a will to save.

2. We made a covenant with death; but God made a covenant with his Son.

3. We were in league with hell; but God was in league with our Substitute.

C. When the Lord God saved us, when he caused us to hear his gracious call, we were pursuing a course of rebellion in spite of many warnings.

God spoke often to us by faithful teachers (v. 20). But we ran toward hell with such zealous commitment to destruction that one would think we looked upon hell as a prize to be won.

God has given many of you many faithful teachers, who have stood before you and urged you to repent and trust Christ. But you will not hearken to the voice of your instructors.

· Parents.

· Sunday School Teachers.

· Pastors/Elders.

D. Those whom God has sworn to call are men and women who are so bent upon wandering from him that they will choose any way other than his way.

1. Some turn to the right hand road to destruction - Self-righteous.

2. Some turn to the left hand road to hell - Profligates.

3. The way to life is the other way - About face!

Note: You will never find life, grace, peace and satisfaction for your soul until you turn around, look to Christ and see everything in him (Gen. 22:13). “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it!”

II. Now, secondly, I want you to see THE CALL OF GRACE.

Understand what I am telling you. God always takes the initiative in salvation. No part, or aspect of salvation is dependent upon, determined by, or accomplished through something you do. “Salvation is of the Lord.”

· What does the sinner have to do with Election? - Nothing (John 15:16).

· What does the sinner have to do with Redemption? - Nothing (Gal. 3:13).

· What does the sinner have to do with Regeneration? - Nothing (John 6:63).

· What does the sinner have to do with the Call of the Spirit? - Nothing.

A. The call of grace, the call of the Spirit comes to lost, wandering, straying sinners unsought, unasked, undesired - (Isa. 65:1; Rom. 10:20).

God speaks. His word is “Return! This is the way! Walk ye in it!” Maybe you pause for a moment. But you are not interested. You push on toward hell. God speaks again, saying, “This is the way.” You maybe startled by the prickings of conscience, but you are not interested. So you resolutely set yourself against God, determined to go to hell. Unless God stops you in your way and causes you to hear and obey his call, to hell you will go.

Some of you, like Jonah, are trying hard to go down to Tarshish, where the voice of God is not heard. You will gladly pay the fare thereof, if only you could escape the voice of the Almighty. But God has prepared a storm and a great fish to stop his chosen - He will be heard by those whom he has chosen.

· Grace will force you into the way.

· Grace will teach you to pray.

· Grace will teach you to know, and rejoice to confess, that “Salvation is of the Lord!”

Note: God has his servants everywhere - And by them he declares, “Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.”

B. This “word behind thee” is the voice of an unseen, unknown caller.

It is not the voice of a man that speaks to your heart, but the voice of the unseen God. Though you know him not, though you cannot see him, you cannot stop your ears from hearing his voice.

· It comes with mysterious power.

· It comes at all hours.

· It is as a “still small voice,” after the earthquake and fire, the voice of God in your heart and conscience that you can neither escape nor resist.

C. This is a call that pursues and overtakes the chosen sinner (Ps. 65:4; 110:3).

1. It comes at the opportune time - “When ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Just as he is about to turn down Deadman’s Lane and enter the Dungeon of No Return, God overtakes his chosen.

2. This call of grace is absolutely necessary - Without it none would be saved, none can believe, none can ever come to Christ - (John 6:44; Gal. 1:15-16) - (Ps. 80:3, 7, 19).

III. Thirdly, I want to show you THE WORD OF THE CALL.

I do not say that the only time God saves a sinner is during a worship service when the gospel is being preached. But I do again affirm that the call of grace, the effectual call of the Spirit always flows from and is connected with the preaching of the gospel. You will never hear the voice of God apart from the Word of God. You will not be called to faith in Christ apart from the preaching of the gospel (John 17:17; James 1:18; Rom. 10:17).

“Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, Walk ye in it!”

A. It is a word of specific instruction.

Faith in Christ is not a leap in the dark. It is the believing response of the heart to God’s revelation. The Lord God lays down a specific pathway and says - “This is the way!” And I am declaring to you there is but one Way of Life - Christ! He says, “I am the Door.” There is no other. “I am the Way.” There is no other. The only way to God is Christ.

1. This is the Way of Blood Redemption (Heb. 9:22; 10:19-22).

2. There is the Way of Grace Alone (John 1:11-13).

3. This is the Way of Personal Faith (Acts 16:31).

4. This is the Way of Heartfelt Repentance (Luke 13:3; I John 1:9).

Illus: The Prodigal!

The Publican!

5. This is the way of Self-denial and Surrender (Mk. 8:35).

B. This call comes by a word of personal direction.

“This is the way” - That is the doctrinal instruction. “Walk in it” - That is the practical direction. Don’t be content to hear about it, think about it, and consider it. “This is the Way - Walk ye in it!”

· For Justification.

· For Sanctification.

· For Comfort and Strength.

· For Reviving and Refreshing.

C. And this call takes the form of a command - “This is the Way - Walk ye in it!”

That is not an invitation, a proposition, or an offer. It is a command. God commands us to come to his Son, trust him and look to him as our Lord and Savior. That means two things.

1. We are responsible to trust Christ.

2. We have permission to trust Christ.

You are not told to stand by the way and wait until something happens - God says, “This is the Way - Walk ye in it.”

I have shown you À The Position of the Sinner

Á The Call of Grace

And  The Word of the Call.

IV. Now, lastly, I want you to see THE SUCCESS OF THE WORD.

Look at our text again - “Thine ears shall hear!” God not only gives us something to hear, but ears with which to hear. He spreads the table, and gives an appetite. He makes the garments, and gives us a sense of our nakedness. He calls. And he causes us to hear! “Thine ears shall hear!” This is effectual grace!

When God sends this word of grace to a sinner, when God calls one of his elect, he always does these five things.

A. He will make you to see your sin.

B. He will reveal his Son.

C. He will create in you a desire for Christ.

D. He will create in you a resolve and determination to come to Christ - to seek him.

E. He will bring you to Christ in faith - and he will be gracious to you (vv. 18-19).

Illus: Whitefield and the Servant Girl.

Application: Come now to Christ - “Why will ye die?”

1. He is able to save.

2. He is willing to save.

3. He will fully save.

4. Without him you cannot be saved.