Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew 24. Matthew 24. I have a particular subject matter
that I'd like for us to look at tonight. As I mentioned to
you this morning, there are just so many things that our Lord
said in this chapter that caught my attention. And throughout the chapter, our Lord
describes the horrible destruction that was going to come to Israel.
That's what he is. They asked him, when will this
destruction of the temple in Jerusalem be, and what will be
the sign of your second coming? And our Lord told them that a
very horrible destruction was going to come to Israel shortly
after his ascension back to glory. A brutal, devastating war was
gonna come. Look at verse 21, he said, For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no
nor ever shall be. Great devastation and tribulation
like there had never been and never would be again. He said,
that's what's coming to this generation. Verse 22. He said, and except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. Everyone would
be wiped out. He went on to say, but for the
elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. but for the elect's
sake. God has an elect people. We mentioned this a few times
this morning. I want to dwell on it for a minute tonight. God
has an elect people. He has an elect people. Look
at verse 24. It says, for there shall arise
false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and
wonders in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect." The very elect. Verse 29 says, immediately after
the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and
the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from
heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken and then
shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the
Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect. from the four winds from one
end of heaven to the other. They shall gather together his
elect. The end of verse 39 says, so
shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two
be in the field. The one shall be taken and the
other one left. Two women shall be grinding at
the mill The one shall be taken and the other left. God has an
elect people. God has an elect people. I know
that's shocking to hear to many people, but God has an elect
people. And what I want us to enter into
tonight is everything that he has done, he has done it for
them. Everything that he has done,
he has done it for their sake. He said in verse day, verse 22,
those days are going to be shortened for the elect's sake. For the elect's sake, that's
what I've titled this message for the elect's sake. Now, there are times when we
look at the subject of election. that we spend the first part
of the message proving that an election actually took place. We are not gonna do that tonight.
An election took place. God said he has an elect people,
therefore, God has an elect people, period. By his grace, I pray
that he'll give everybody here faith to believe it. God has
an elect people. God chose a people before the
foundation of the world. All sinful creatures just like
everybody else. Everyone comes from the same
lump. No one is better than anybody else. Are we better than they?
God forbid. But he chose to set his love
and affection on some and to deliver them from their heart's
desire to just run head first into the destruction of hell.
He stopped some. God has an elect people. And
this is what I want us to get a hold of. Everything that he
has done, he has done it for them. That's just amazing to
me. He has done it for their sake. And I do want to establish that.
God hasn't elect people, but I do want to establish and prove
to you that everything that he has done, he's done it for their
sake. Turn with me over to 2 Corinthians
chapter four. Second Corinthians chapter four. Verse one says, therefore, seeing
we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not. God's elect are men and women
who have received mercy from him. They've received mercy. Verse two. We faint not, but
have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God." God's elect are men and women who have been
called to a knowledge of the truth of Christ and they have
renounced all of the dishonesty and the lies of man's false religion. That's who God's elect are. They
handle God's word in the truth that it was written in. Whatever
he said, that's what they believe. Preach, believe, cling to. Verse
three, he said, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that
are lost. God's elect are men and women
who God has saved. by opening their eyes to see
Christ, through opening their eyes to see Christ, the life
of Christ, the death of Christ, the blood of Christ, which was the satisfying payment
of Christ, the satisfactory payment of Christ, the fullness of the
redemption of God's elect. Paul is speaking to God's elect
right here, okay? And he said in verse 13, look
at verse 13, We having the same spirit of faith, according as
it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, we also
believe and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised
up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall
present us with you. Verse 15 says, for all things. are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound
to the glory of God. That it might redound, that it
might redound. All things are for your sakes. that the abundant grace of everything
God has given for the sake of God's elect everything that God
has done for the sake of his elect. All things are for your
sakes that the abundant grace everything he's done might through
the thanksgiving of many. Redound to the glory of God. That means that it might increase
to that. It might go right back to where
it came from. God's glory. Everything that
has been done for God's elect was from God's glory. It was by God's glory. It is
to God's glory. It's all under God's glory. It
all starts with God's glory and it all redounds right back to
God's glory. The object of all of it is God's
glory. And that's exactly what God accomplished
in doing everything he did for his elect. He accomplished his
own glory. That's what he accomplished.
I just love that, all things are for your sakes that, here
it is, that, all things are for your sakes that the abundant
grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory
of God. Let me show you a verse that
I love so much. Go with me to Isaiah 44. I'll read a few verses to you
and then point out the verse I'm talking about. Isaiah 44, verse 1 says, Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant
and Israel whom I have chosen. He is speaking to his elect people
here, Jacob, sinners. Verse two, thus saith the Lord
that made thee and formed thee from the womb, which will help
thee. Fear not, O Jacob, my servant,
and thou, Jesuron, whom I have chosen, for I will pour water
upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground, I
will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine
offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows
by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's,
and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob. and another
shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord and surname himself
by the name of Israel. I love that. They're all gonna
say, hi, my name is Gabe Israel. They're all gonna surname themselves
by the name of Israel. Verse six, thus saith the Lord,
the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first
and I am the last and beside me there is no God, and who is
I shall call and shall declare it and set it in order for me
since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are
coming and shall come, let them show unto them. Fear ye not,
neither be afraid, have not I told thee from that time and have
declared it? Ye are even my witnesses, is
there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God, I know
not any. He's speaking to his elect people.
In verse 21, he said, remember these, O Jacob and Israel, for
thou art my servant. I have formed thee, thou art
my servant, O Israel. Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me. You will not be forgotten of
me. I have blotted out as a thick cloud, thy transgressions. And as a cloud, thy sins return
unto me, for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens, for
the Lord hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the
earth. Break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every
tree therein. And this is what I love so much. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob. and glorified himself in Israel. He said, my redemption that I
made, my price that I paid, it was for you. It was specifically
for you. And he said, I glorified myself
in the process of making that payment for you. I redeemed you
and glorified me. And all of God's people say amen
to that. Turn with me over to Matthew chapter one. Matthew 1 verse 18. Now the birth
of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When, as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Why did Christ come into this
world? One reason only. for his elect's
sake. His people, verse 22, now all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
the Lord by the prophets saying, behold, a virgin shall be with
child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Who is God with? It was God for
his elect people. That's why he came into this
world. That's the only reason he came into this world. Think
about that. That's the only reason he came
into this world. His elect people. Why did he
stay in this world? Why did he live here for 33 and
a half years when he was so despised and so rejected Acquainted with
sorrow and grief from man. Why did he stay here and live
here and go about doing good? Always beholding the face of
his father, perfectly obeying all the demands of the law. Why
did he do that? He did it for one reason only.
It was all for the elect's sake. It was all on behalf of, all
in the stead of, all applied to the account of his elect,
all of it. He came to this world for his
elect's sake. He lived in this world for his
elect's sake. He died in this world for his
elect's sake. He said, for this cause came
I into the world. This is the reason why. He said, I came to lay down my
life for my sheep. I came to die for my sheep. I came to die for my people.
Now this really blessed my heart. Matthew 24 is telling us about
the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, okay? It's talking
about his return. Why is he coming back? Why is he coming back? He's coming
back for his elect's sake. That is the only reason in Matthew
24 and in other places, it tells us God is going to destroy this
world with fire. He is going to destroy this world.
That's how the world is going to end. That's how the world
is going to end. It is going to be a really big
global warming. Huge. The disciple said, Lord, tell
us about the end. Here it is, this world and everything
in it is going to be burned up by the fire of God. All right.
So why is he coming back? He doesn't need to come back
to do that. All he has to do is speak the word only. If he
wills it, it's done. So why does he need to come back?
One reason only. is elect's sake. He is coming
back to get his elect. That's the reason why he's coming
back. Turn over to John 14. This blessed me too. John 14
verse one says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe
in God, believe also in me. Verse two, he said, in my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. Now watch this. I go to prepare
a place for you. Why did our Lord rise from the
grave and ascend back up to that place where he was? Why did he do that? Now, all
of that was of his glory, by his glory, unto his glory. He glorified himself in the process
of all of that. But why did he himself right
here say he was ascending back up to glory? He said, I'm going
to prepare a place for you. He ascended back to glory for
his elect's sake, and he is coming again for his elect's sake. Verse three, he said, and if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. This is
just amazing, isn't it? I enter into this as much as
a human can, as much as a sinful, selfish human can. I believe I am sincere in saying
this. I acknowledge how selfish I am. But I believe in my heart that
everything that I do is for Hannah and the girl's sake. I believe
it is. And you men know what I'm talking
about, and you women know what I'm talking about. Everything
that I do is for them. And how amazing is it that everything
that our Lord has done? It's for his love, it's for the
ones he loves. For his elect's sake, why did
he come? His elect. Why did he live here? His elect. Why did he die? His elect. Why did he rise and
ascend back to glory? His elect. Why is he coming again? He's elect. He's coming back
for his elect. I want to ask you one more question
here. Why did he create a new heaven and a new earth? Why did
he create a new heaven and a new earth? Why did he create a whole
new creation for the remaining existence of eternity? I'll show you why in Isaiah 65.
Go over to Isaiah 65. Verse 1, the Lord said, I am
sought of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me, behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. God's elect, again,
God's elect in their flesh. They were no different from anybody
else. They had to be redeemed from sin. They were sinful people. But with that redemption from
sin being finished in the blood of Christ and that difference,
God made a difference for His people. He set them apart in
Christ, set apart to holiness in Christ. And with that being
established, look at verse 8. It says, Isaiah 65 verse 8, thus
saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the
cluster, and one saith, destroy it not, for a blessing is in
it, so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy
them all. And I will bring forth a seed
out of Jacob, and out of Judah, an inheritor of my mountains,
and mine elect shall inherit it. and my servants shall dwell
there. And Sharon shall be a flock of
foals in the valley of Achor, a place for the herds to lie
down in, for my people that have sought me. But you are they that
forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare
a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto
that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall
all bow down to the slaughter, because when I called, you did
not answer. When I spake, you did not hear,
but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I
delighted not. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty. Behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be ashamed. Behold, my servants shall sing
for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall
howl for vexation of spirit. And you shall leave your name
for a curse unto my chosen. For the Lord God shall slay thee
and call his servants by another name. that he who blesseth himself
in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. And he that
sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth, because
the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hid from
mine eyes. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mine. But be ye
glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I
create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people. And the voice of
weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence
an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his
days. For the child shall die an hundred years old, but the
sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they
shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards
and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another
inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat. For as the days
of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall
long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in
vain nor bring forth for trouble, for they are the seed of the
blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them. And it shall
come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while
they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall
feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock, and
dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." All of it is for his
elect's sake. All of it. Everything he has
done, he has done it for his people. And that makes me want
to glorify him. Honestly, that makes me want
to glorify him. To him be the glory for all of
it. Amen.