Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;
5 sermons cite this verse
of evil. May God bless this word to our hearts and all God's people said, amen. You may be seated. Strong words, my goodness. What do we do with strong words in the Bible? Yeah, good word. We take heed. We eat them up. We deal with them the way that God wants us to deal with strong words. You're going to see, in my opinion, a lot of parallels between being a parent and God speaking to us. Both are authorities. Both are lovers of their children. And both have something to say. And Solomon is a great example of this. He's writing this to his son. And we learned that in the introduction. But we're looking at wisdom speaking to us. And there's some things we've learned in our study, our last time together, and that is wisdom is speaking. And we saw from verses 20 to 22, two very key points. And they were these key points. That is, wisdom is speaking wherever you go. And of course, that shouldn't surprise us. …
And all God's people said, Amen. You may be seated, church. Wisdom is speaking to you. it's amazing to me, I remember when I first gave my heart to Jesus Christ, when I heard the gospel, I've told you many times before, I didn't quite understand what I was doing, I just knew that it was something that I needed to do, and that is immediately, first of all, was to give my life to Christ, because I didn't want to go to hell, I had heard the message, Greg Laurie was the one preaching it. And he gave that message and I listened and I was convicted and my first response to God was what some people say is fire insurance. I ran straight to the Lord because I wanted to go to heaven. But that one step began a movement or a journey in life and I know that many of you, I hope, I wish I could say for all of us, I don't know all of you, but I hope by the end of this message, it would be true for all of us, that we began a journey of pursuing God and God revealing himself to us. …
Then, again, they shall have no mercy who said they needed none. Are there not some here who fancy that they need no mercy from God? They do their best. They are excellent in character. They are well deserving and they expect to enter into Heaven through their good deeds. You seek no mercy, you shall have none! You proudly reject it. You trust to your own righteousness—you seek to have what you merit—you shall have what you merit—but that will be to be driven forever from the Presence of God! There cannot be mercy to those who will not confess that they need mercy. There shall be no mercy in that day for those who sought no mercy here. Prayerless souls? You are graceless souls and mercy shall be denied you then! You will pray loudly enough then! Oh, how they pray in Hell! What tears and groans send they up to Heaven! They would gladly have mercy there, but Mercy's day is over—Justice has turned the key and hurled that key into the abyss where it can never be found! They are prisoners forever beneath the wrath of God! They who will not ask for it deserve not to have it. When mercy is to be had for the asking, if man turns upon his heels and refuses to ask, what shall God do but say, "Because I called and you refused—I stretched out My hand and no man regarded—I also will mock at your calamity. I will laugh when your fear comes"? There shall be no mercy for those who ask no mercy. …
I believe that throughout eternity the punishment of the guilty will be aggravated forever by the privileges against which they have persisted in sinning. To sink into perdition from the shadow of the Gospel is possible. To go down with warnings of judgment and wooing of mercy sounding in one's ears is suicidal! To leap into the Pit headfirst and to find out the deepest depths of dire despair is dreadful beyond description! To think of it conjures up thoughts from which we recoil. Oh, call it not a fatal mistake, for it is a foul crime! The heathen, who never heard of Christ, cannot accuse them- selves of having wasted Sabbaths and rejected a Savior. But Sabbath after Sabbath you who have had the Gospel delivered in your hearing—you will have to bear a reproach like this, "You knew the Gospel, but loved it not!" This shall be the perpetual worm that shall never die. There was a time when God called. He himself said it, "I called, but you refused; I stretched out My hand, and no man regarded it; therefore, I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear comes." In like manner Jesus says, "Woe unto you, Chorazin; woe unto you, Bethsaida; it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for you." The privilege in each instance clenches the responsibility. Oh, may this solemn Truth of God abide with each of us! …
Remember, too—and here is something solemn, but something sweet as well—it is God's time, for these are God's words put into the Prophet's mouth—it is time to seek the Lord! God says, "It is time." When God says it is time, why, then, when I come, I cannot be denied! God says, "It is time." Then if I do not come, I provoke Him! Hear you these words, you that are dull of hearing, and you whose hearts have a thick crust! Hear you, for Jehovah speaks to you this day. "Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation." "Today"—He limits the time— "Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, for if you do so, the day will come when He will deal with you as He did with His people, Israel, who, having long provoked Him, received this as His answer to their face, "He swore in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest." Not yet has He spoken, but He may, and that awful voice which comes from Solomon's Proverbs may come to you. "Because I have called and you refused, I stretched out My hand and no man regarded it, I also will mock at your calamity; I will laugh when your fear comes." "Today is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation." Once more only. It is time to seek the Lord, and it is but time. It is but a time. You have not given to you eternity in which to seek the Lord. It is the time, and the time is limited. It is still time, but it is limited. To some of you it is most limited. It is time to seek the Lord. The vessel lies in the harbor and the favorable wind would take her out to sea and bear her on to her port, but the sailor sleeps—the captain observes not the wind. The sails are furled. Tomorrow the wind has changed. Now he may do as he will, but he is land-locked, and there must he remain. He cannot put out to sea, for he cannot command the gale. So is it with you—there is a time which God appoints you. Tis now! Slight it and it may never come again! It is but a time. Oh, take this mercy at the flood—miss it not, I pray you. While God waits, come you, lest there should come an hour when you shall knock at His door and the voice shall be heard, "Too late, too late! You cannot enter now." Ah, I would I had but power to put this as I should, and so that you would feel it, but, perhaps, you will feel it when I would wish you had no need to do so—I mean on your dying bed. …