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Sermon #21331 Miscellaneous Notes

Title: “The Pleasure of the Lord”

Text: Isaiah 53:10

Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Subject: Divine Sovereignty

Introduction:

I stand before you either as a servant of Christ or as a servant of the devil. I must be one or the other. Our Master said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). It is written, “Woe is unto me if I preach not The Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). In another place Paul says, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

Watchmen

If I do not preach the Gospel that Paul preached, a curse hangs over my head. That puts me in a position of awful responsibility. No wonder the prophets of old spoke of the message they carried and the responsibility of delivering it as “the burden of the Word of the Lord.” God’s servants are set by Him as watchmen over the souls of men, responsible to God for faithfully instructing eternity bound sinners in the way of life and salvation by Christ. As we hear the Word at His mouth, so we must speak (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:7). “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). We must add nothing to it and take nothing from it (Deuteronomy 4:2). “He that hath my Word, let him speak it faithfully” (Jeremiah 23:28). He who dares to stand in this place and speak to eternity bound men and women, as a steward of the mysteries of God, must be faithful...

· To The Word of God

· To The Gospel

· To Glory of God

· To the Souls of Men

I call upon you who hear me to compare every word I speak with the Word of God. I urge you, for your soul’s sake to do so. If what I have to say is of God, hear me, bow to His Word, believe it and rejoice in it. If it is not of God, do not hear me, never hear me again, lest you perish in delusion and darkness. That is how serious this matter is.

I make you this promise — That which I have to preach to you is that which has been inscribed upon my heart by the finger of God, experienced in my soul by the operation of His grace, and proved by the faith God has given me. It is not a theory, an opinion, or a conjecture. It is the very truth of God.

A Request

Before look into the Scriptures together, I have a request. Will you here who know Christ, lift up your hearts to God and ask His blessing upon His Word. O that God might speak through this worthless, dirty, empty pipe to your hearts and to the hearts of lost sinners in this house for the glory of Christ, the comfort, edification, and everlasting salvation of your souls, for Christ’s sake! It is my prayer and my heart’s desire to God that you who believe Christ may be instructed, comforted, and strengthened by the Gospel and that you who are yet dead in trespasses and sins may this very hour be born of God and granted the blessed gifts of eternal life and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. — O Spirit of God, come upon us! — Fill us! — Teach us! — Revive our souls! — Refresh our spirits! — Cause these bones to live, for Christ’s sake!

Divine Attributes

There are certain things about the character of God that are believed and held in common by all conservative “Christian” religions and people. All who profess to be Christians believe, or at least profess to believe, that God has certain attributes which are essential to His Being as God…

· “God is a Spirit,” eternal, immutable, and independent.

· God is holy, wise, and good.

· God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

· God is just, true, and faithful.

· “God is love,” merciful, gracious, long-suffering, and forgiving.

These are characteristics of God’s nature, attributes of His Being, that all religious people, to one degree or another recognize and applaud. Both Baptists and Methodists believe these things. Presbyterians and Pentecostals, Episcopalians and Catholics, Campbellites and Russellites, Adventists and Mormons all acknowledge these things to be true. Neither Quakers nor Papists would deny any of those attributes of God. Every man, woman, boy or girl, who professes to believe in God will tell you that these things are so. You believe them; and I believe them.

Another Attribute

But there is something else, another attribute essential to the character of God, which most religious people refuse to accept. In fact, they despise it. Though they sing, “O How I love Jesus,” with beaming faces, when a preacher dares tell them that this attribute is at the very core of His Being, essential to His nature, they become enraged.

Here is the one attribute of God’s Being which distinguishes Him from all the imaginary gods of men. In fact, if you will read the Book of God one more time, you will find out that it is this attribute of His Being to which God Himself most often points when showing the difference between Himself and the idols of men that are called gods.

Because God Himself has chosen to use this one attribute above all others to distinguish Himself as God, when I am asked to answer the question, “Who is God?” it seems most reasonable to me to answer it by setting forth this one distinguishing attribute of His nature. — You will find it stated emphatically throughout this Book — Sovereignty.

Proposition: That one attribute of God by which God distinguishes Himself from all the gods of men is His absolute, universal sovereignty.

You will find my text and my subject in Isaiah 53:10.

(Isaiah 53:10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

I want to talk to you tonight about “The Pleasure of the Lord.” Isaiah here tells us that Christ our Mediator, the Son of God our Savior, because he has accomplished the redemption of His people, sits upon the throne of the universe, performing all the pleasure of the Triune God everywhere, all the time, in all things.

God’s sovereignty, His absolute dominion, control, and rule of the universe is written across the pages of Holy Scripture as a blazing beam of light. Only those who wilfully shut their eyes to the glaring revelation of God in Holy Scripture fail to see it. We read in Psalm 115:3 and again in Psalm 135:6. — “Our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased!” — “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places!”

He who truly is God is totally sovereign. The God of the Bible, the one true and living God, the God we worship, trust, and love, is an absolute sovereign, in total control of all things, at all times, always performing His will and pleasure.

Psalms 115:1-3

1. “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. — (This we say with regard to all things, especially with regard to all things involved in the salvation of our souls.)

2. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3. But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Psalms 135:1-6

1. “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

2. Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,

3. Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

4. For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5. For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord (Our Sovereign) is above all gods.

6. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

Sovereign or an Idol

The Lord our God is absolutely and universally sovereign. And I am here to assert in the plainest, boldest terms possible that anything less than an absolute sovereign is not God, but only the idolatrous figment of man’s depraved imagination, an image carved from one of the trees in the dark forest of man’s depraved heart and idolatrous imagination.

When I assert that God is sovereign, I am simply declaring that He is God. God almighty has the right and power to do what He will, when He will, with whom He will, as He will; and He always does. The god of this apostate religious age is anything but sovereign. This religious generation is well described by the prophet Isaiah. — “They pray unto a god that cannot save” (Isaiah 45:20).

1. Modern religion has set aside the sovereignty of God to make room for the autonomy of man.

2. Today, men everywhere deny the sovereignty of God’s will, in order to exalt the imaginary freedom of man’s will.

The fact is, the god of the “enlightened” 21st century church is a weak, helpless, frustrated, effeminate idol which commands the respect of no one. The god of the modern pulpit is an object of pity, rather than reverence. Let me show you what I mean.

· We are told that God loves everybody. — But if God loves everyone alike and some still perish in hell, His love is meaningless and irrelevant.

· They tell us that Christ died for everyone. — But if Christ died for all men alike, shed His blood to redeem all men and some are not redeemed, His blood is meaningless and irrelevant.

· The whole religious world declares that the Holy Spirit strives for the salvation of all. — But if God the Holy Spirit is trying to save all men by the operations of His grace and some are not saved, His grace is meaningless and irrelevant.

Those are the very things by which the god of this age is most commonly described. They describe your fathers’ god and your neighbors’ god. They may even describe your god. But that is not the God of the Bible. A weak, helpless, frustrated god, is no more God than the totem poles of barbaric tribesmen.

The God of the Bible is an absolute sovereign. It is written of Him, — “All things are of God!” You can take those words just as far as your imagination will allow; and when you have gone the full length of your mind’s imagination, you have not even begun to commence to get started measuring the magnitude of those words. – “All things are of God!”

· God is sovereign in creation — “The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Proverbs 16:4).

· God is sovereign in providence (Matthew 11:20-25; Romans 8:28-30; 11:36; Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 76:10; Exodus 34:24).

Matthew 11:20-25 “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the Day of Judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee. 25 ¶ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.”

“¶ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Romans 11:33-36 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 1:11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

Psalms 76:10 “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”

Exodus 34:24 “For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.”

· God is sovereign in salvation – “Salvation is of the Lord!” (Romans 9:16-18; Ephesians 1:3-14).

Romans 9:16-18 “So then [it is] not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will [have mercy], and whom he will he hardeneth.”

Ephesians 1:3-14 “Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; [even] in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

When we talk about God’s sovereignty, we are simply declaring that God is God. Divine sovereignty means that God always does exactly what He wants to do, that He always does all His pleasure. Is that not what He declares? — “I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10). Nothing ever comes to pass except that which God brings to pass according to His own, sovereign, eternal, immutable pleasure. He who is our God is that great and glorious God who works all things after the good pleasure of His own sovereign will (Ephesians 1:11).

Everything that comes to pass in time God purposed to bring to pass in eternal predestination and effectually brings to pass in His sovereign providence, — “According to the good pleasure of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace!”

“Keep silence all created things,

And wait your Maker’s nod;

My soul stands trembling while she sings

The honors of her God.

Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown;

Hang on His firm decree;

He sits on no precarious throne,

Nor borrows leave to be.

Chained to His throne a volume lies

With all the fates of men,

With every angel’s form and size

Drawn by th’ eternal pen.

His providence unfolds the book,

And makes His counsels shine;

Each opening leaf, and every stroke

Fulfills some bright design.

Here He exalts neglected worms

To scepters and a crown;

And then the following page He turns,

And treads the monarch down.

Not Gabriel asks the reason why,

Nor God the reason gives;

Nor dares the favorite angel pry

Between the folded leaves.

My God, I would not long to see

My fate with curious eyes,

What gloomy lines are writ for me,

Or what bright scenes may rise.

In Thy fair book of life and grace

May I but find my name,

Recorded in some humble place

Beneath my Lord the Lamb!”

Amen.

Part 2

I have, in the previous hour shown you from the Word of God that “the pleasure of the Lord” is always performed. God always does that which pleases Him. — “Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.” How I rejoice in that fact! What comfort, what joy, what peace it gives to my heart to know that God my Savior rules the universe!

The Lord, Jehovah, still maintains

His holy, sov’reign throne;

In heaven, earth, and hell

He reigns, and makes His wonders known.

Sov’reign, eternal, His decrees

Firm as the mountains stand;

Our God performs whate’er He please,

And none can stay His hand.

All things our God rules and controls

His purpose to fulfill,

Even the destiny of souls,

According to His will.

Jacob by grace most free He saved,

And gives no reason why;

But Esau’s heart he left depraved. —

Who can His will defy?

What if the sov’reign Potter takes

Part of a lump of clay,

And for Himself a vessel makes,

And casts the rest away?

Who can resist the Potter’s will,

Or say, “What doest Thou?”

Jehovah is Jehovah still,

And to Him all shall bow!

My soul, rejoice, believe, adore

The Lord in all His ways.

His sov’reign throne I’ll bow before

And trust Him for His grace.

Realizing that “Our God is in the heavens” and that He does “whatsoever He hath pleased,” I want to know this: — What is God’s pleasure? That is my subject. — What is God’s pleasure? What is it that God is pleased to do? I know that the “secret things belong to the Lord.” I am perfectly content to leave the secret things secret until He is pleased to make them known. I have no desire to pry into that which God has chosen not to reveal. But I do want to know as much as I can about what He has revealed; for “the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children.” Does God tell us what His pleasure is? Does God reveal in His Word what He is pleased to do? Let’s look into the Book and see.

Here are five things

revealed in the Word of God,

which God declares

he is pleased to do.

His People

1. 1 Samuel 12:22 — “It hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.”

1 Samuel 12:22-24 “For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. (23) Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: (24) Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you.”

If you and I belong to God, if we are numbered among His people, if we are heirs of God and join-heirs with Jesus Christ, it is because “it pleased the Lord to make you His people.” How has the Lord God made us His people? He has done so by three, mighty acts of grace.

By Special Adoption

In sovereign, electing love, by special, Divine adoption, the Lord God has made us His own people.

Psalms 65:4 “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.”

John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God 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: (14) Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”

Illustration: Johnny’s #60

By Sovereign Creation

Second, it pleased the Lord to make you His people by the sovereign gift and creation of life in you (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17), by His own effectual, irresistible, omnipotent mercy and grace in the new birth (John 3:1-8). — The new birth is not by a decision man makes, but by the creation of God.

John 3:1-8 “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

This new birth is a resurrection from the dead, the creation of life where once there was nothing but death.

Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved.)”

By Saving Faith

Third, the Lord God made us His people by giving us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by creating in us a willing, voluntary faith in and surrender of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 110:3).

Psalms 65:4 “Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, [even] of thy holy temple.”

Psalms 110:3 “Thy people [shall be] willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

All Fulness

2. Colossians 1:19 – It pleased God to put all fulness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:18-19 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”

The triune God has given the Lord Jesus Christ, our God-man Mediator, preeminence in all things and over all things, and has put all fulness in Him, so that He might be preeminent in the faith, praise, and adulation of His saints forever. – “All fulness” is in Christ.

the Fulness of the Triune God

Colossians 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”

All the Fulness of Covenant Grace

John 1:14-16 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (15) John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. (16) And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

Ephesians 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

All the Fulness of God’s Salvation

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

All the Fulness of Heaven’s Glory

John 17:5 “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

John 17:22 “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Bruise Christ

3. Isaiah 53:10 – “It pleased the Lord to bruise him,” to crush His darling Son to death as my Substitute!

Isaiah 53:10-12 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

Four Facts

Whenever you think about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, remember these four facts, these four words, which define and explain what took place at Calvary more than 2000 years ago.

1st Sovereignty – “I lay down my life.” — “The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

2nd Satisfaction – “Then I restored that which I took not away.” (Righteousness and Redemption).

3rd Substitution – “For the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

4th Success – “He shall not fail!” — “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied!”

Reveal His Son

4. Galatians 1:15-16 – It pleased the Lord to reveal His Son in me.

“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 conferred not with flesh and blood:” (Galatians 1:15-16)

Salvation does not come by a decision, — saying a prayer, — walking an aisle, — kneeling at an altar — doing good works, — baptism, — or anything else preachers tell you to do to “get saved.” Salvation comes to poor, blind, hell-bent, hell-deserving sinners like you and me by the sovereign interposition of God almighty, by Divine revelation, by God the Holy Spirit revealing Christ in you!

2 Corinthians 4:3-6 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

When God the Holy Spirit comes to a sinner in effectual, irresistible, saving power and grace, He does some teaching, convicting, reproving, and convincing.

John 16:7-11 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (9) Of sin, because they believe not on me; (10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; (11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

If God ever saves a person, that person will know…

· Who Christ is.

· Why He came (Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 10:5-14).

· What He did (Hebrews 9:12, 26).

· Where He is now.

· What He is doing. – “The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand!”

By the Gospel

5. 1 Corinthians 1:21 – “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

God saves sinners through the instrumentality of Gospel preaching, by the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. – Not by preaching, but by GOSPEL PREACHING!

Illustration: The Man Who Worked at Matthews

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

1 Peter 1:23-25 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

Ephesians 1:12-13 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”

Application

1. Sinner, Come to Christ and confess Him before men. – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.”

2. Children of God, rejoice in the great and glorious sovereignty of our God. Our faith and confidence in Him is a well-founded faith and confidence.

3. Preachers, Preach Christ!

Amen.

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s