Whosoever Wills of the Bible — Rolfe Barnard

Now, tomorrow night, we are divided tonight, it couldn't be helped, we understand that, but I hope that his teaching messages have been at least worthwhile. We've enjoyed staying out in the stick, it's been good.

The Last Chapter and the Invitation to Come

We almost, we think of you, dear people, six months, the earnest re-singer, and then through him, through you. And it's been our joy, hope that some, liberty of the gospel, in these days, yes. I thought maybe tonight, something that has led to a lot of, I'm going to speak tonight from the last chapter, we want to deal, optimistic text in the New Testament, John 5, 40, you will not come unto me that you might have life, to me that is a pessimistic, no man can come unto me except to follow the drawing that has hope in it, that's a very optimistic verse.

Tomorrow night, I announced that tonight I would teach you some from the 17th verse of the Revelation, 22nd chapter of the Revelation, speak on the hoose of the Bible, somebody came to me after service, and they didn't get my subject right, I'm going to preach on the fact, I'm going to do that.

Three things from the scripture, I said a minute ago, that we not make the Bible say what it does, making it say it is, isn't it? After a predestination, somebody wanted to know, some to be damned, even though they wanted to be saved.

Now we need to be a little, somebody said, have you heard it said that the Bible may come to Christ, have you ever heard that? Don't say that, but the Bible, it just don't do it. I said, no it don't. Well, you say, Brother Barnum, you're straining the gnat and swallowing the camel, no, I'm insisting these days, there was so much controversy and much difference of opinion, to find out the truth, that we just confine ourselves to Bible language.

Here's the thing, let's see if somebody else can see, this is what the Bible says, we hear that, that's what it teaches, that's what the Bible teaches. Tomorrow night we're going to try to show you, in the Bible it says, if it's left up to men, who will come?

Nobody. In that verse, John files and damns every human being that's out of heaven or hell. Because if that's all it is, if I left home most of these 39 years, had to make different kinds of food all these years.

Nothing else to put up and down the line with some confidence in people, bond in the right way, I'd be a fool. What keeps you keeping on is that you do not go preaching a whosoever will, preaching the gospel of God, concerning His Son, the hearing of men and women, some of them are given faith to believe.

And our confidence then is in God. We go each place we go, remembering, even a man has sound and truth and is sound. He said, now don't be afraid in that city. Isn't that a wonderful place? You're labeled that are going to hear the gospel and actually be able to hear it, even the one that speaks.

The Waters of Life and the Richness of Divine Grace

Now that's our end. When you're not getting results, and it'll do when you are, it wouldn't take a million dollars for it. Now having labored the point that I'm not talking about the whosoever we think, let him take the waters.

That's first the fellow of God's divine grace in his heart and in his soul. Come to the Lord Jesus. This grace that I'm talking about now, this water that men are to take freely, we are not left up to our own conjecture as to what it is.

In verses of the throne of God, a pure drink comes from his wonderful throne. It is a rich and it flows from the throne of God. You're thirsty for a drink, and then a drink, and a keep on drinking. If you drank of it, every being here.

Then the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nation that people are bidden to take if they're willing. And who's willing? God, not just us. Rich in mercy. Rich in mercy. There's plenty. Let me tell you one thing the Bible says.

He's this rich. Human being in the world from Adam. It wouldn't exhaust. He's rich under heaven. You're ready to take him in the here and the now. He's in the doctrine, the teaching of predestination.

It's not that men are ignorant of the heart of it, but they actually know. They won't admit that they understand what it means. And it means that salvation is a thing of hope. That man's being saved in proportion as the character of Christ is being reproduced in him.

We have a gospel, and that leads to men's hope. It just won't squash. Because men do understand them. They publish things about them. But for men to understand that salvation is the making of a man holy.

That's exactly what it is. You can't have this Sunday morning stuff we call Christian America and keep these doctrines. You can't have what we have down south, and you know better up here. Christianity, giving things up for lip service to a doctrine that talks about making men and women to be conformed to the image of God's dear son.

Thirsting for Christ and the Need for Holiness

Tonight, this, that's what that means. The man's desire for water. It's the most intense of the human body. Thousand other things. And I doubt that too mean poison. And they wouldn't give me any water.

If I convinced you to vouchsafe now, I would have sold my soul. Had a chance, I'd have bought a glass of water with my eternal soul. That's how intense it was. Now you get intense about this business.

Goodness is here. You either got to work it out to become intense. And desire of sins. And the planting of the germ of holiness within you. Poor men not thirsty for anything for them. A very ill desire that you want to make it.

It's big enough to take you in. You're not thirsty, it leaves you out. I haven't had any more than that. There isn't an invitation in the Bible that's any wider than that. You're hungry, there's bread.

You're not hungry, but you make the decision yourself. You say, I don't need forgiveness. A sinner dead sure do that. And a sinner dead sure invites yourself. You're not talking to me. I'm thirsty. I have a keen sense of my need.

I'd love to be planted with the privilege of drinking it. Come unto me, says the Lord, if you're thirsty. Keep on drinking. And just keep on drinking. And just keep on drinking. Now if men were invited to be a different store of grace.

Faith as Confidence and Divine Enablement

Work in their soul. Two things have to happen. It's got to come from somewhere. I invite you to work it up yourself if you think you can. If you think you can, I invite you to prostrate yourself before God's truth.

And cry to God to open your heart in the eyes of your understanding. Give to your ear a hearing after the gospel that you might attend on the things of eternity in your soul. Either a man can do it himself or he needs somebody to give him that which he cannot do.

And up till now, nobody's ever been able to change his nature. And unless God works the work of divine grace in you, you'll never be thirsty. And that's the reason I say that salvation is in the way of seeking.

Until it must be worked in you. You can't do it yourself. You can cry to God. In that grace. Men do not thirst in their own. And you will never. Now hear me. You will never. Until you've got confidence.

You haven't got any. But that's still just half of it. Faith is a confidence. If I turn myself over to Christ, would everything be alright? Confidence. He has. I can't do it. He can. Faith is confidence.

In the second place, they're the ones who take. They thirst it. The streams go by, they take. He's commanded to take. And the whosoever wills, do the same thing. Then the Bible says about the whosoever wills.

You know, there's an active principle in that faith. That unites us with or relates us with grace. On the name. Or not the folks who in their strength. Thirsty enough to take preaching. In the third nine years.

And I still don't know how to handle the great paradoxes of the Bible. So I don't try to. I know this. It actually. Comes a time. If you keep out of hell. And if you gain some strength. Explain that. No, I can't explain it.

I can't explain it. He enables. To reach out. On the name. So much. About what we call. A mourner's bench. Objection. I don't want to get in a straight jacket. I. The only thing. With me is. I go to a place.

And it's different. You know, that way you go. I go to different sections of the country. I go to different. Atmospheres. Here's the way we do things here. And that's perfectly alright with me. As long as you don't tell me I got to do it that way.

You can see how God will bless you in your dumbness. He does me some. Just so you don't say that's the only way. He works. Somebody said, well, you can't get saved unless you do it this way. Now we just manage.

We just manage. We just. So I'm not talking about the mourner's bench as such. It's a lot better than nothing. It's better than nothing. I tell you what. I'm talking about a mourner's bench in your heart.

Daily Perseverance and Calling on the Lord

I'm talking about an expression that describes the child of God. In his birth. And in his daily growth and walk. It's a calling. On the name of the Lord. It's not a once for all proposition. I'm as certain as I'm alive that I'm going to speak the truth now.

Everything in relation to your response to and commitment to Jesus Christ needs to be done over again tomorrow. Every commitment. You need to do it again tomorrow. Every act of the Christian life must be daily.

The Bible knows nothing about a repentance for yesterday without today. Or believing yesterday and not believing today. Clinging to Christ yesterday but not clinging to him today. Every expression in the New Testament where people are said to have eternal life or everlasting life is in connection with a verb that's in the present participle case.

It's he that believeth. He that continueth. He that abideth. He that obeyeth. It's a proposition of today. I made this statement. I think I'm right. You can have no assurance that you're a child of God if you have to go back to yesterday for evidence.

You don't have evidence today. You don't have assurance today. Is that alright? Do you believe in it now? Yesterday, how about now? How about now? You obeyed him yesterday. How about today? It's a present proposition.

It's a present tense proposition. You must be up to date in it. Every commitment needs to be recommitted. Every vow needs to be revowed. Repentance needs to be repeated. Prayers need to be repeated. Faith needs to be continued.

What am I talking about? Things the scripture says about the whosoever. They take. They take. Whosoever is taking. I don't know what the best Bible language for it. It's a calling on the name of the Lord.

Now this... Now hear me as I make a hard statement. This continuous calling. Sovereign grace. Unceasing calling. Out of the recesses of one's heart. Is the mark of a child of God. It is this unceasing.

This continuous. Inside. In the secrets of your heart. Calling on the name of the Lord. That's the mark of a child of God. And the lack of it. Is the mark of a man who believes. Faith is the same kind that.

It's a. No word. Or the believing child of God. Unceasingly. On the name of the Lord. We take the expression Romans 10. 13. Whosoever. Shall call upon the name of the Lord. And so they say brother Barnes.

That means this. You get folks come down the aisle. Get down on the knees. Get them to say. Lord forgive me. For Jesus sake amen. And they guarantee your salvation. That is what this scripture is talking about.

This is an incessant. This is a lifelong. This is an unceasing. This is continual. Reaching out to. But in sin. I know what I'm doing. Whosoever shall call. Whosoever shall call. That marks him. He's a caller.

That's the mark. Of a child of God. Hell's going to be full of people. That got out on their knees. Said a little prayer. Somebody said you're saved. I don't know. Now let's get it. You're not saved by prayer.

But you're not saved apart from it. For blessed God. This sovereign grace I'm talking about. Will bring you prostrate. Before the Lord on your face. Calling on the name of the Lord. Let me repeat it. You're not saved by prayer.

You're saved by faith. But you're not saved apart from prayer. Well this thing will get serious. There's a call. On the name of the Lord. What does it mean get down on your knees. Mr. Spurgeon. Has rarely ever prayed on his knees.

Rarely. He never prayed with his eyes closed. Maybe sometimes he could. He didn't do that. He lived a life. As far as we can find out. It was just sort of a state of prayer. He was always calling. On the name of the Lord.

Now while you're working. And you're not conscious for the deep things that go on your life. Or in your subconscious. The child of God. On the name of the Lord. All the time. You're washing dishes. Not conscious of it.

Calling on the name of the Lord. Fine corn. Calling on the name of the Lord. Whosoever shall call. Is the active principle of a faith. That faith. Day by day. And whosoever wills. A fellow that takes.

The Third Mark: Taking Grace Freely

And then the last place. The third thing about. Whosoever wills of the Bible. Not only are they thirsty. Not only do they take. I want to press that just a little more. Before I get off of it. Don't wait on anything.

Don't wait for deeper conviction. Or deeper this or deeper that. They're thirsty enough and watered off the tap. Blessed are they that mourn. For they shall be comforted. A mourning that doesn't lead.

To being comforted of Christ. Is not Holy Spirit repentance. That's a comfort. That follows New Testament. Bible mourning. Grieving over sin. And seeking of the Lord. Seek ye the Lord. While I may be found.

In the day thou shalt seek me. With all thine heart I shall surely be found. Is the Bible anchor. But in the last place. The third thing about. Whosoever wills of God freely. Freely. I think maybe that could mean two things.

Abundantly. Not just a sip. Not a Sunday morning proposition. Not a thing apart from life. Not a thing as a convenience. If a church. If a town ought to have a chamber of commerce. And a school and a church.

That's atmosphere. That's Americanism now. Not just as an appendage on life. And things that are really important. But they take it. With a great grasp. Now. They don't spare. They take it freely. They take it freely.

They take the grace of God abundantly. More than our necessary food. We thirst. And take a sovereign grace. Calling. On the name of the Lord. And I think it could mean. Without price. Let him that's a thirst come.

And whosoever will. Do I lose their will? Well the thirsty ones. Well they do. They take. They take freely. They take without price. You know. Two different senses. It costs the son of God. He's hesitating.

Christ's Suffering and the Cost of Discipleship

I don't know how to talk about this. I wouldn't be a sentimentalist. Or be maudlin. I've never been able to talk. About the suffering. Of Jesus Christ. On the cross. For one time. In my ministry. I've never been able to speak.

I don't know. You're in mystery. And I would not appeal. To our senses. I could get people to cry. If I told them about. How the little girl. How the little dolly. Got run over by the car. Or the little dog.

You know got his leg broken. And I would not approach. The suffering of Christ. From that standpoint. I don't know how. One time. In my whole ministry. I was able to talk about. The suffering of Christ.

On the cross. In a God honoring way. One time. In 39 years. Talk about it. I make a mess when I try. The son of God. Agony of separation. From God. No man can even hope. Rightly. Much less enter in. To the terrible.

Terrible. Agony of that crime. My God. My God. Why. Has thou. Forsaken me. The son of God. The water of life. From the throne of God. Was opened up. Out of the wounded side. Of the Lord. The Lord. In which it.

Without money. Without Christ. But in another sense. It cost you all that you have. And all you are. To receive. You do not buy a wine. And yet. In time you forsake all the gain. You cannot purchase. A drink of this life giving water.

At the price of the pain. But I am very badly fooled. If the New Testament don't teach. That in the obtaining of this water. You have to lose. Your own life. And from here on out. You're not your own.

You've been bought. Everything you are. And everything you have. Is not yours. It's his. In that sense. With all. The Lord faithfully gave. To men and women. Nothing of what was involved. Setting out.

To walk with the Lord. It can be said. That while. You cannot buy. With a price. The obtaining of it. Will cost you everything you have. Three things. That the Bible says. About the whosoever will. Of this day or any other.

Invitation to Come, Take, and Confess Christ

They're thirsty people. Men and women. Men by God's grace. Have been brought to see the truth. About themselves. And their need. For God's grace. To do for them. What they cannot do for themselves. They come and take.

And to take freely. At the cost of the life. Laid down of the Son of God. And at the cost. In that sense. Of all they have and are. Are you one of the whosoever will. Deeply. Deeply. Sensitive. Of your need of divine grace.

Lay hold. Abundantly. At the cost of everything. And if you've not already done so. Find out. How this congregation does. I do not know their method. But request permission. To walk an aisle. Or meet with somebody.

Or do something. When that has been accomplished. Say. I wish this church. To baptize me. Why you want to baptize? Because it's the seal. The sign. Of my faith. Thirsty. I came. And took. And the work's done.

And I want. To have my confession. God's done for me. The New Testament says. The way we make our public. Profession of faith. Is in the act of baptism. There ought to be people. Searching our churches out.

Any way you have. God help us not to be happy. If a Lord's day passes. And somebody doesn't come. Say I want this church. To baptize me. What you want me to baptize for? God bless God. I owe it all to him.

But he made me thirsty. I got to where I wasn't so happy. To be in rebellion. I got to where some sense. Of the fact that I'm dying. And now it's on the other side. Of death. Of judgment. I became somewhat sensible.

Of the fact I couldn't remedy. The situation myself. Being thirsty. I've heeded the invitation. Whoso's thirsty. Let him come. Come where? To this great river of life. That's Christ of course. God. I took to him.

The Seal of Faith and the Hope of Glory

Be the glory. I took freely. Now I can sing hallelujah. It is done. I've believed on the son. I'm saved. By the blood. Of the crucified one. And I want to put on his uniform. And wear the sign. And seal of that covenant.

And tell the world. Here's a trophy. Of the sovereign grace. Of God almighty. Through the blood of Jesus Christ. You do that. For the glory of God. And the safety. May the Lord. Do that for somebody here tonight.

If that needs to be done. Let us stand. Do you have a word brother Pastor?