when I say that it is my honor
to be here, to be invited to speak where, to me, I have truly
beheld the grace of God. I thank the Lord for that which he's done in this
place. And truly, I pray that this weekend
is truly blessed by the Lord to the calling out and the comfort
of his people. For you are the men I look forward
to hearing what the Lord's laid on your heart, Paul. I pray that
tonight that truly we might worship. I'm gonna ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Genesis chapter 24. Genesis 24. The Lord spoke to
two men on the road to Emmaus and set forth for us all to rest in what I'm about to say. These scriptures are concerning
Him. And if we see not Him, then we
see not correctly. There is a conversation that's
going to take place between a man named Abraham and his eldest
servant. Abraham, a man loved of God,
called of God, led by God, kept by God, has come to the latter
part of his life and he suffered many trials. He was blessed in these sufferings
to behold the sustaining grace of God. And in his trials, we've
profited beholding what the Lord was pleased to do through this,
his servant. One of, I'm sure, the greatest
trials that he was called to suffer was when the Lord told
Abraham to take his son, his only son, Isaac, the son that
he loved, and to take him to the land of Moriah and offer
him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that the Lord would
show him. And in that suffering, those
three days that Abraham was called to travel with that boy, the
servants, the ass, and they came to the place, and oh, the blessing
of these words, he told the two men You stay here, and the lad
and I will go yonder, and we're gonna worship. We're gonna worship. That boy
in Abraham's heart was dead. But in that blessed account,
when he brought that boy, bound him, laid him upon that altar,
And raised that knife, and the Lord stopped him. Abraham, Abraham. Don't do the boy any harm. Turned
and he saw a ram caught in a thicket. Do we not behold the glory of
substitution? Beholding the glory of God, Christ
bearing our sin, being made sin for us. Later, Abraham's wife, Sarah,
died and Abraham wanted to buy a burial place. He wanted to buy a cave, the
cave of Machpelah, a cave that owner offered to give him. He said, I'll give it to you,
Abraham. And Abraham refused to take the cave at no cost. He said, no, I want to know the
market value of that piece of property, whatever the full payment
is. And the owner told him, he said,
well, it's 400 shekels of silver, but what's that to us? Abraham
counted them out, counted out the money, witnessed it, everything
was secured. And in that cave, not only Sarah
was buried, but Abraham and Isaac and Rebekah and Leah,
but in that purchase of that cave in which they were buried,
did we not see beautifully in type and shadow The full purchase
price of our eternal rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. What did
it cost? What was the full price that
cost? The blood of the Lord Jesus. Well now, Abraham, the scripture
says in verse 1 of Genesis 24, was old. Well stricken in age and the
Lord had blessed him blessed Abraham in all things Now we
saw how in Abraham's life that beautiful picture of substitution
we saw in that Suffering that he endured with his wife's passing
purchase of that cave and rest and now we're going to behold
a Abraham is going to send his servant to find a bride for Isaac. But in that sending of his servant,
we're going to see how the Lord calls out his sheep. This is what we're going to look
at. Lord willing, I'm going to look at verses one to nine. This
whole chapter is such a beautiful chapter. But I'm going to try
to hold it to nine verses. And we want to just see, how
does God call out His sheep? He was about 140 years old. And the scripture says, the Lord
had blessed Abraham in all things. Look, turn back to Genesis 13,
13-2. I know He blessed him materially.
Scripture says, Genesis 13, 1 and 2, and Abram went up out of Egypt,
he and his wife, and all that he had, and lot with him into
the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle,
in silver, and in gold. The Lord had blessed him. He blessed him materially. He
had. But look at chapter 15, verse 1. After these things, the words
of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram,
I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. What a promise. I'm your shield, and I am your
reward. Verse two, three, and four. And
Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled
over all that he had, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh,
and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven,
God of earth, of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto
my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell,
but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a
wife unto my son Isaac." Now, according to Abraham's word,
Isaac was going to have a bride. And she was going to be sought
out, she was going to be found in a way that magnified the deep,
blessed counsel, will, and purpose of Almighty God. Oh, but the
picture here, the time. Remember, the Lord expounded
unto them in all the scriptures those things concerning Himself.
The Lord has a bride. Abraham was going to have a bride
found For Isaac, his son, Scripture says the kingdom of heaven, this
is Matthew 22. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain
king which made a marriage, which prepared it for his son. He's going to have a bride, but
he's going to be specific here. He said, I want you to put your
hand under my thigh, and I'll make thee swear by the, you see
that capital L, capital O, capital R, capital T? By Jehovah, Father,
Son, Spirit. I want you to swear by the covenant
God. The God of heaven, the God of
earth. Gonna send him to get a bride,
but don't take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites
among whom I dwell. Go to my country, to my kindred,
and take a wife unto my son Isaac." Almighty God is going to save
a people of His affection and His love, and He's going to save
them totally by grace, apart from any work on her part,
not by works of righteousness that we've done. But according
to His mercy, He saved us. He's not going to look to the
Bride for anything. She is the Bride of His Son. Turn with me to Hosea 2. She's always been his bride.
Hosea chapter two, 19 and 20. And I will betroth thee unto
me forever. Yea, I will betroth thee unto
me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness and mercies.
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou
shalt know the Lord." Look at verse 12. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Forgive me on that. He's got a bride. He's going
to have her. He's going to save her. And you
know the way He's going to save her? He's going to save her by
power. John 17, 1 and 2. John chapter
17. Our Lord's high priestly prayer.
What is the surety of the bride being found and saved? John 17,
warning through these words spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes
to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify Thy Son
that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, as Thou has given Him power
over all flesh. that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. So here's Abraham, and he's
got his servant, and he tells his servant, I want you to put
your hand under my thigh. This was obviously a practice
of a binding oath that's going to be made between Abraham and
his servant. He's going to make him, I want
you to swear Swear by the Lord, God of heaven and earth. Find
a wife, don't take it from among the Canaanites, those that are
accursed, but you go to my country, you go to my kindred, and you
find a bride for my son. Now, here's what he's telling.
He said, I want you to go to the place where God was pleased
to show mercy to me. You go to my country. But now, what is the picture
here? What are we called to do as preachers of the gospel? What has the Lord commissioned
us to do? He said, now I want you to go
to my country. Go to my kindred. Where is the
country of the Lord? Where is the country of the Lord? The Lord told His disciples in
Mark 16, 15, He said, You go into all the world and you preach
the gospel to every creature. Where do we go? We're going to
go wherever the Lord opens a door for us to go. We're going to
preach the gospel of God's grace. And in this servant that's being
sent, surely I see, for sure we see the Spirit of God. But do we not see the ministers?
There's five other men that's gonna be standing here, Lord
willing, and preaching. Five other men that's gonna preach.
And do you know what we've been commissioned to do? You find
a bride for my son. Turn with me to Romans 10. You
find, this is what we do, we're gonna find a bride, and we don't know who she is.
We don't know who she is. Romans chapter 10, verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him
in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent as
it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach
the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things.
So here's what we know. We know that God's sheep are
scattered. They're all over the world. They're
in every nation, and kindred, and tribe, and tongue. And so
we're told to, you go, and you go unto my country. And as the
Lord's servants, that's exactly what we're doing. We're preaching. Turn with me to Isaiah 62. Isaiah
chapter 62. The Lord's bride's out there. He said He's got a bride. Isaiah
62, 1-4, for Zion's sake will I not hold my peace? And for
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the righteousness thereof
go forth its brightness, and the salvation thereof is a lamp
that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see the
righteousness in all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called
by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou
shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and
a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be
termed forsaken. Neither shall thy land any more
be termed desolate, but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and
thy land Beulah, for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land
shall be married. Now turn to verse 12. And they shall call them the
holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And thou shalt be called
sought out, a city not forsaken." We know that the bride's there.
We know she's there, Tony. We know. So what are we going
to do? The Lord has commissioned His
preachers, you go seek a bride for my wife, for my son. Abraham's
thought was concerning Isaac. And the Heavenly Father's will
and purpose in the calling out of the Bride of Christ is to
the praise of His glory and grace in His Son. Listen, Ephesians
2.7, that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Having heard that word concerning
the seeking out of the bride, that word is gonna be sealed
with an oath. The servant, before he made the
oath, Abraham's telling him, he said, now I'm gonna want you
to put your hand under my thigh and you swear to me, you swear
to me that you'll go and you'll find a bride for my son. Don't
go to the camp, don't go to the cursed. God's got an elect. God's got
a people. And those are the ones he's gonna
save. I know he is. Don't go to the
cursed. We don't know who she is. We
don't know the elect. We don't know the curse. We don't
know. We know that we're to preach the gospel. That's what we know.
But we're commissioned to do something. You go and find the
bride. And this servant asked a question
that truly is a question that we need to consider for a moment.
And ask ourselves what is being asked right here. Look at verse
five. And the servant said unto him. Now he's heard him, he's
heard him. Don't go to the Canaanites, you
go to my country, you go to my kindred, and you find the bride
for my son. Peradventure, the woman will
not be willing to follow me unto this land. Must I needs bring
thy son again unto the land from which thou camest? Now, he's saying this, if I can't
find a bride that's willing to come merely from hearing the
report that I'm going to give concerning Isaac. I'm going to
go and I'm going to tell her about Isaac. That's what she's going to know.
Now, if she's not willing to leave her home, leave her family
for your son, well then do I need to bring Isaac back to where
you came from? Now we're dealing now with a
bride that doesn't know the son. Never seen him. All she's gonna
know is what she hears about the son. And she's gonna have
to come willingly. But he said, what if she doesn't?
What if she doesn't come? What if she doesn't want to come. Do I bring Isaac back here? Now,
just consider for a moment the implication of what he's asking. Where did Abraham come from?
Well, somebody said, well, he came out of Ur of the Chaldees.
Let's go back a little bit more. Turn with me to Joshua 24. Joshua
24. Joshua 24, verses one to three. Joshua chapter 24, verse one,
and Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem. and called
for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their
judges, and for their officers. And they presented themselves
before God, and Joshua said unto all the people, thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, your fathers dwelt on the other side of the
flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, the father
of Nachar, and they served other gods. And I took your father
Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout
all the land of Canaan and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac. Now here's what he's asking. I'm to go and find a bride. I'm
to give the bride, the potential bride, the report concerning
your son. What if she doesn't want to willingly
come? Do I take your son and bring him back where God took
you from? Here's what we're saying. If
it's not by the grace of God, then in order to get a bride,
do I just go back to will worship and idle worship, worshiping
self? Do I take him back to where you
came from? And Abraham said in verse six,
Abraham said unto him, beware, beware that thou bring not my
son thither. Isaac is the son of Abraham. The father has a son. the eternal
generation of the only begotten Son, and all that is Abraham's
is Isaac's. Abraham believed God. What if
she won't come willingly? Do I bring him back? Look at
verse 7, and here's what he said when he told him, verse 6, you
beware that thou bring not my son thither. the Lord God of
heaven, which took me from my father's house. and from the
land of my kindred, which spake unto me, and that swear unto
me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And he shall
send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my
son from thence. And if the woman will not be
willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this
oath, only bring not my son thither again. God's sheep are heirs of God. You know what that just says? What that says? God is their
inheritance. He told Abraham, he said, I am
your shield, I am your great, exceeding reward. And they are
joint heirs with Christ, and they shall come to the Lord Jesus. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. If she's not willing
to come, is there an alternative? No, no, no. If she doesn't come willingly,
you're cleared of this oath. But don't you bring my son back
to where I came from. God chose a bride in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Brother John, that's what you
just read. Bless her with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ. Abraham said, God swore to me. He gave me his word. A kingdom has been prepared for
God's sheep before the foundation of the world. Christ has redeemed
them by his blood. Verse 8, again, if the woman
will not be willing to follow thee, here's the promise we have.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of
God unto salvation. Abraham's servant was to seek
out a bride by telling her about Isaac. He told of Isaac before Rebecca. I want you to look. I know I'm
in the first nine verses, I know, but I've got to go here. Chapter
24, verse 34-36. Genesis 24, verse 34. And he said, I'm Abraham's servant. You know, Abraham's a picture
of the Father. What a blessing. He said, I'm
Abraham's servant. You know what God's people say?
I'm God's servant. I'm God's servant. And the Lord
hath blessed my master greatly, and he's become great, and hath
given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants,
and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah, my master's
wife, bare a son to my master, and when she was old and unto
him, hath he given all that he had. He said, I'm here to find a wife
for my master's son. And he has everything, everything. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Matthew 11, 18, Jesus came and
spake unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and
earth. All power, all power to finish
the work of salvation is in his hands. When he said, it is finished. And we have a report. I got a
report. I'm here to tell you about the
son. about God's Son. I'm telling
you that He's got a bride and He's going to have her. I'm going
to proclaim unto you that He is God Almighty. I'm going to
tell you who He is. He's the Redeemer. He's the substitute. He's the King. He's the Great
High Priest. I'm going to tell you all that
I know, all that I can. You know how faith is going to
come? By hearing. And hearing by the word of God,
he said, beware that you bring not my son thither. You tell
her about Isaac. That's what you do. Abraham sent his servant to fetch
a bride, just like Mephibosheth was fetched. Is there any left
of the house of Saul that I might show mercy to him for Jonathan's
sake? Well, there's one boy, lame on
both his feet. He's over in Lodibar. You fetch
him. Go get him. That's what we're
doing. Fetch him. Is there any alternative? You remember that crowd? Turn
over to John. I'm gonna wrap this up. John 6. You remember
in John 6 a crowd that was following the Lord? John 6. And they were following the Lord
and the Lord said something. And it was concerning. his sovereignty,
God's sovereignty. He said in verse 65 of John 6,
and they were following him, he said, therefore said I unto
you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto
him of my father. Now what he's done is he's put
all the glory and honor and praise on the father. and he's given
the people none. No honor, no glory. No man can. No man has the ability. No man
has the power. No man has the will. No man can
come unto me except it were given unto him of my father. From that
time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with
him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve,
Will you go away? They walked away. You want to
go away? What if the woman won't come?
What if she won't come willingly? Do I bring Abraham? Do I bring
Isaac back? No. They walked with him no more. The Lord turns to his disciples
and said, will you walk away too? Then Simon Peter answered
Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. The gospel is the proclamation
of the glory of Almighty God in the face of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The only message that God's gonna
bless to the calling out of His sheep and His people. Thy sheep shall be willing. Paul
wrote a writing to the letter Thessalonica. He said in 2 Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians chapter two, verse 13, 14, we're bound to
give thanks all way 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,
whereunto he called you by our gospel. to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. The elder servant went and told
the family, and we'll stop with this, told
the family about Isaac. And it came time for him to go,
he's going back. Now what if she's not willing?
No, if she's not willing, you're clear to the oath. Don't bring
my son back. Don't bring him where I came
from. Back in Genesis 24, verse four, it's coming to the time
now. She's heard what he said about
Isaac. She's heard the report of who
Isaac's daddy is, who Isaac's mama is. What Isaac has, he's
heard everything about Isaac. He's getting ready to leave and
his family wants to kind of buy a little bit more time, what
they're doing. Genesis 24, verse 54 to 59. And they did
eat and drink, he and the men that were with him and tarried
all night. They rose up in the morning,
and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and
her mother said, Well, let the damsel abide with us a few days,
at least ten. After that she shall go. And
he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord has prospered
my way. Send me away, that I may go to
my master. And they said, Well, we will
call the damsel, and inquired her mouth. And then they called
Rebecca and said unto her, wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. I pray God bless us to our hearts.
Amen.