Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
In Matthew 13, Jesus delivered a lengthy sermon to a multitude gathered along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. There were so many people crowding around him that day that he actually had to commandeer a little ship and deliver his sermon from out on the sea. The most remarkable thing about this sermon, however, is not that Jesus preached from the sea to the shore but that he taught the people in nothing but parables, one right after the other. In other words, he taught the people that day in a way that was intended to prevent them from understanding what he was saying.
Later, when Jesus and his disciples were alone, they asked the Lord why he did that, saying, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" The answer Jesus gave is stunning in its implications.
The Master replied, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."
Think of that! Jesus intentionally spoke to that multitude of God's own people in a way that was intended to keep them in the dark! Of all the lessons we could learn by considering this terrifying reality, the greatest is the most obvious; to wit, that if God does not choose you, you cannot choose Him.
There are many wise men of earth who reject the power of the holy Ghost and the truth of the gospel of Christ as if they have something better. They try to make it appear as if they are of such superior intellect or social standing that it would be beneath their dignity to humble themselves before the Lord Jesus. But the truth is much different from that. As I said in that Monday night prayer meeting long ago now, "The wise men of earth think they do not believe in the power of God because they see a better way. But if any man does not believe in the power of God, it is because God has hidden it from his eyes, and God has not called him." Jesus said the same thing in these words: "No man can come unto me except the Father call him." Hunger for God is a gift from God. Hunger for God is, in reality, God wanting you. "We love Him", John wrote, "because He first loved us." But if God does not love us first, if God does not show mercy to us by convicting us of our sins, it is impossible that we should want Him or His righteousness.
Paul told the congregation in Corinth to pause from reading his letter and look at themselves. He wanted them to ponder over the kind of people who were gathered there in the assembly of saints. Then, from afar, he told them what they themselves saw: "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen." The wise men of earth, and the nobles, and "mighty" of whom Paul spoke may have ridiculed the gospel as if they were above it and didn't need Jesus' help, but the truth was that God had not called them into His heavenly kingdom.
I went on to say in my sermon that evening, "The only reason any person on earth has not received the holy Ghost is that God has not given it to him." What other reason could there be? It is God's holy Ghost to give or not to give. There can be no other reason for any man to be without God's eternal life but that God has thus far refused to give it to him. Pity the man, my brother, who feels no pangs of guilt when he sins. God has cursed him. Pity the rich, the famous, and all the "mighty" of earth who sin with a smile. God will turn their laughter into terror in the day of His wrath, and He will lift you up who have kept His ways and have not denied His faith.
And finally, in my message that night I added, "Everyone who knows the truth has received the baptism of the holy Ghost or is seeking it." This is true because everyone whose heart has been touched by God desires the things that be of God.
Jesus, not man, is in charge of who enters the kingdom of God. The people who pretend to be too sophisticated to have an interest in the holy Ghost and its power over sin and sickness are deceived; they think that following Jesus is a choice that they have the power to make. But being born again is "not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God" (Jn. 1:13). One evangelist, Billy Graham, being full of zeal but lacking in knowledge, became world famous by exhorting men to "make a decision for Christ". But coming to God is not man's decision to make. Jesus even told his own disciples, "you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (Jn. 15:16). In all the years of Mr. Graham's travels and labor, there was never one case of a person being born again as a result of obeying his exhortation for men to "make a decision for Christ" (unless, of course, they later became acquainted with the power of the holy Ghost and repented). Never, in his entire career, did a single soul receive the baptism of the holy Ghost (with the evidence of speaking in other tongues) by leaving their seat in the auditorium and going up to him to make their "decision for Christ." Why? They were making a decision for Christ, rather than to repent and cry out for God's mercy so that Christ would make a decision for them. He was not sent by God to preach, and his gospel had no power to wash men from sin. He could convince thousands to make a decision, but he could not lead sinners to the new birth because he himself did not understand what it was. It is one of the many bizarre doctrinal episodes in recent times that Mr. Graham wrote a well known book titled, How to be Born Again, and in it, he never once mentioned the Pentecostal baptism.
What good is it for a man to decide to follow God? The whole world is populated with people who have decided to follow God. Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and thousands of others have decided to follow God. But it is the decision of God to touch a heart and to create in it a thirst for righteousness that makes the only real difference. Man is neither wise enough nor good enough to choose God. The heart of man is the most deceitful thing in the universe (Jer. 17:9); it will never lead man to decide to obey the true God. Humble yourself to face the fact that man is just plain stuck in sin unless God decides to help him get out of it, and God begins that work of mercy by touching man's heart so that man can begin to want to get out of sin. To paraphrase John, "We want Him because He first wanted us."
The touch of God creates in man a willingness to be changed. If you are willing to change, then you can be healed from every ungodly influence that has ever touched your life. That is the mercy of God for you. It is not of man, and you should be thankful for every desire of your heart to do what is right.