1 Samuel 1, the first chapter
of this book is actually called the first book of Kings. Did
you notice that? 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 2 Book of
Kings, 1 Kings is actually the third book of Kings. It's all
about the kings. And the king that this is all leading up to
is David. who represents the King of Kings,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The first book of Samuel, like
so many of the first books in the Bible, must first concern
or speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's called the first and the
last, isn't he? And everything in between. Genesis
1. Genesis 1. God the Father, the Spirit, and
then the Word and the Light. And they said, let us make man
in our image. That's Christ, isn't it? Psalm
1, the blessed man. John 1 is Genesis 1. Revelation 1, the revelation
of Jesus Christ. This, 1 Samuel, Christ has the
preeminent. And this man, Elkanah, represents
the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you understand that? He must.
Christ must have the preeminent. Look at verse 1. Now, a certain
man. This is speaking of a certain
man. And he is the theme of this first chapter. Not Hannah. No,
no, no. She wouldn't even be in the picture
if it wasn't for this man. But this man, this certain man. Verse 1 gives his lineage. Alright,
he's a Levite. He's a priest. That's his lineage. Well, Matthew 1 is the very first
gospel, is it not? And it says the book of the generation
of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, gives his
lineage. And he's a priest, but not a
Levite. He's a priest after another order
in it, the order of Melchizedek, an unchanging priesthood, okay? So this first chapter is principally
concerning a man, a certain man. Look at verse 3. This man. Look
at verse 21. The man. You remember 2 Samuel 7, where
it said, God is their God, the God, and that God. You remember
that? Well, this certain man. This
man, the man, Elkanah, now he is the subject of this story,
and he represents the man, Christ Jesus. That man, who God hath
ordained, Jesus Christ, the man. Great is the mystery of God.
God was manifest, man, manifest in the flesh, became a man. The
gospel is concerning, Romans 1. the gospel of God concerning
his son, made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
You see that every book begins that way. And the whole book
is concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. So the word was made
flesh, John said, John 1. Salvation is all in a certain
person, a certain man, a certain man, the man Christ Jesus. And this story is about verse
1, his pedigree. Verse 2, his wives. Verse 3,
his sacrifice. Verse 4, his gifts. Verse 5,
his love. Did you hear that? Let me tell
it again. It's about his pedigree, his wives, his sacrifice, his
gifts, and his love. This is all about the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so the story of Scripture
is the story of the Lord Jesus Christ. His pedigree, Son of
God. Son of man. His priesthood, after
the order of Melchizedek. His sacrifice, this man, Elkanah,
verse 3, went up yearly to worship. Well, Hebrews 7 says, this man,
no, no, no, he said those men offered sacrifices year after
year, but this man, Christ Jesus, after he'd offered one sacrifice
for sin forever. sat down at the right hand of
God. He didn't have to keep offering the sacrifice. His sacrifice, his gifts. All
right, look at it. Verse 2, he had two wives. The
name of one was Hannah, the name of the other, Penina. Penina
had children, Hannah had none. And this man went up out of the
city yearly to worship, sacrifice unto the Lord. And the two sons
of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there. It mentions that
because they're going to be later spoken of. These were evil men.
What did Elkanah find when he went into the temple in Shiloh? He found two evil men. What did
our Lord find when he came into the temple of Jerusalem? It was
the first thing our Lord did when he first came into the temple
as a man. He plaited a whip. and cast out
all those money changers. He said, this is a den of thieves. So this is such a picture of
Christ here. Well, and his gifts, verse 4,
he gave to Medina, his wife and all her sons and her daughters,
portions. Now, our Lord, everything that human beings receive comes
from the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. The story of Joseph. Joseph, his whole story, we looked
at it briefly recently. Despised and rejected and abused
and wanted to kill him, but didn't, but sold him for so many pieces
of silver and put in a pit and he thirsted. Such a picture of
Christ. But he ended up on the throne,
didn't he? He ended up on the throne. And Pharaoh made him
lord over all of Egypt. And Pharaoh said to everybody
in Egypt, if you need anything, if you want anything, don't come
to me, go to Joseph. Joseph sends charge of the storehouse. And our Lord Jesus Christ said
these very words, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth.
Come unto me. If you need anything, you go
to Jesus Christ. He's Lord over it all. And he
gives everything to everyone. Psalm 104 says that Lord's tender
mercies are over all his works. That they receive, in Psalm 104,
He gives everything. Every good and perfect gift comes
from above. Don't cry. Alright, look at verse
2. He had two wives. El Cain had
two wives. Polygamy is not of God. You hear
me? No, He allowed it. In Genesis
2, which Paul quotes in Ephesians 5, For this reason shall a man leave
his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and these two
shall become one flesh. Right? A man and a woman. God created man in his own image. Male and female. Very distinct. Okay? And these two become one
flesh. Not three. Two become one. Polygamy is never sanctioned
by the Lord. False religions like Mormonism,
they get that from things like that. No, no, no, no. God never
sanctioned that. It's never been so. The first man had one wife. As far as we know, it was the
only wife he had all his life. The first Adam. Why? Because
he's such a picture of the second Adam. Faithful to his wife. Two wives, two wives. But in
the sin of man, as in the garden, we're going to see the salvation
of God. In these two wives, we're going to see His love, His mercy,
His grace for His people, His church, His true bride. He has
a true bride, though both of them seem to be. Now, notice
in verse two who he mentions first. This man had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah. That's his first wife. That's
his true wife. Like Jacob. Who did Jacob love? Rachel. He worked 14 years to marry Rachel. He loved her. He was tricked
into marrying Leah. She was not his legal lawful
wife. Rachel was his wife. It even
says that. But Hannah was his love. She
loved him. He loved her, and yes, she loved
him. Verse 4, it says, he gave to Penina, his wife,
and her son's portion. But verse 5, unto Hannah, a worthy
portion, a double portion. Why? He loved her. You see that? It specifically says, she loved
her. Hannah. What's her name mean?
Grace. Gift. Every bride, every bride
of Christ, the wife of Christ, was a gift of the Father to the
Son. We didn't decide to marry the
Son. We were betrothed. For whom He did foreknow, He
did what? Predestinate. To do what? To
be the bride of Christ. Put in the Lamb's book of life
before the foundation of the world. Well, we didn't choose
Him. He kept reminding His disciples
they did. You didn't choose me. I chose you. Father gave you
to me. Your husband, John read Isaiah
54 in a study. Your maker is your husband. And
you and I and all his bride were forlorn women like Hosea, Gomer. Hosea, Gomer. And we sold ourselves
for pleasure, but our Lord Jesus Christ came to to say that, redeem
us to himself. And he said that, he said, you're
going to be mine from now on. So Hannah's true wife, the one
he loves, her name is Grace. And every child of God, every
member of God's church, the Lamb's wife, was given to the Son by
the Father. By grace are you saved. And you
found grace in the eyes of your Lord and your husband. The story
right before this is what? What's right before Samuel? Don't
look. Ruth. That's a love story, isn't
it? Ruth said, why have I found Grace
in the eyes of my Lord? How did it end up? She had a
child. He knew her and had a child. Not until then. So Grace is her
name, Hannah, and we are saved by Christ by His great grace,
gift, everything. His electing grace, calling grace,
loving grace, redeeming grace, everything. Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Moses said, how shall we know
that we've found grace in the eyes of the Lord? Ruth said,
I've found grace. Have you found grace? I want this to be more
than just an interesting story. I want it to be more than something
you think, well, that's really wonderful. I want you to get
something personal out of this. I want you to go away from here
thinking, I'm his bride. And we can know that. We can
know. I want to show you. Okay? So Grace is his name. Do you know that? Grace is his
name. Grace is her name. Isn't it his name? Lord said,
Moses said, how shall we know we've found grace in your eyes?
He said, I'll go with you. He said, well, show me your glory.
He said, I'll make my goodness pass before you. I'll proclaim
the name of the Lord before you. What's his name? Merciful. Gracious. That's his name. That's her name. Like the Lord our righteousness.
Ron, that's his name. That's her name. Right? These two are one. Grace. Grace is her name. His true wife. Verse 2 says,
the other. Calls her the other. Mentions
her name three times and after this, never again. You know what
she's called? The adversary. The adversary. Never, her name
is not brought up again. Hannah's is 13 times. All the
way to the end. Hannah and her husband. Hannah
and her husband. The other, her adversary. This is a picture, people, of
the true church and the false church. All through the scriptures. Penina, her name, I didn't want
to bring it up. I don't have time. I'm not going
to do it. I don't have time. that two wives, from the beginning,
it's not supposed to be that way. It's one man, one woman.
But sin entered, didn't it? And all manner of evil came because
of sin. Okay? In the garden is when our
Lord said, talked about two seeds, didn't it? The seed of woman? Who's that? That's Christ. That's His people. and the seed of the serpent.
That's the false church. Since the garden, that's where
it started. Okay? The seed of woman, the
seed of the serpent. Everybody's not a child of God.
Our Lord plainly said that to some Pharisees, didn't He? He
said, you're of your father, the devil. Didn't He? And that
goes all the way back to Genesis 3, 15. Two seeds, seed of Adam,
you're either in or seed of Christ, you're either in Christ, you're
out of Christ, you're not His bride. One true people, the church,
the bride, seed of Christ. The other, the other is the adversary. It's Paul. All through the scriptures,
our Lord said this, sheep and what? Goats. Christ is the shepherd
of sheep and not goats, although he reigns and rules over them.
They can't do anything except by him. And he said in the end
he's going to separate his sheep from the goats. Sheep on the
right hand, come ye blessed of my Father into the kingdom prepared
for you before the foundation of the earth. And the goats cast
him into the outer dark. That's a fact. That's a fact. He has one true bride. Sheep
and goats. Wheat, tares. They grow up together. You often can't tell them apart.
But in the end, the Lord says he's going to gather the wheat
into his garner and the tares he's going to cast and burn. Children of God, children of
men. Hagar and Ishmael. Rebecca and
Isaac. True people of God. It must be
so. Our Lord said, it must be heresies
among you that they which are approved might be made manifest. It might be clear. We're going
to see. It's very clear which one of these ladies was Elkanah's
true bride. Okay? He's going to tell us. The Lord's going to tell us.
And we're going to see through her. Two wives. It's never been that way. In
Ephesians 4, it says there's one body. One Spirit, one hope
will you call Him, one Lord, one what? One faith, one baptism,
one God, one Father. And you know, I have never contended
to read that, but let me just read it to you. I got to read
that because it struck me. I've read it, but that's Ephesians
4. It says, One God, one Father
of all, is above all, and through you all, and in you all, and
unto every one of us is given grace. I didn't strike you that straight,
did I? One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God, one Father above all, talking about His elect, that's
where Ephesians begins, in you all, unto every one of us is
given grace. We're all Hannahs. according
to the measure of the gift of Christ. You have Christ, so you
have all grace. We're going to see that in a
minute. And I get to it. See what I mean? There's so much
here. Every verse, every verse. All right? Notice verse 2. Hannah had no
children, but Peninnah had children, had several children. She had
many children. She boasted of these children
and that's what she was bragging about and boasting of to Hannah. And mocking Hannah because Hannah
was barren. Hannah didn't have, look at all
the children I have. Why don't you have children?
Look how fruitful I am. Look what all I've done. Look
what all I've done for my husband. I've given him all these You
haven't given Him one. A woman doesn't produce children.
A man does. The seed. Right? She's boasting. She's bragging
about all these children. It was all given to Benina, wasn't
it? It was all given to her. She's boasting and she's bragging
of her offspring. had none. She's barren. She's going to have seed. She's going to have fruit. Yes,
she is. The Lord said that. He said,
Lord, it's God's purpose that you bear fruit. Yes, she is. And the one she has is going
to be worth all of it. The others, all the others put
together, more so. Well, what did Hannah have? She
had no children. What did she have? Look at verse
5. He gave her a worthy portion,
a double portion. What's that? Well, I thought
you'd never ask. In Isaiah 40, listen to this.
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably
to the world. Jerusalem. Cry unto her. Her warfare is accomplished.
By who? By Christ on the cross. That's
who He died for. He didn't die for everybody.
He died for His people. For the transgression of my people
was He stricken, Isaiah 53. Wasn't it? And he accomplished
salvation by the sacrifice of himself on Calvary's tree for
his people. He put away every sin of every
one of God's people. They're holy, unblameable, unreprovable
in God's sight because Christ died for them. Who shall lay
anything the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies.
Who is he that condemns? Christ died. Whoever Christ died
for, they are saved forever. Every picture of the blood in
the Old Testament shed was not shed indiscriminately, but discriminately,
particularly for God's people. The high priest went into the
Holy of Holies with names on his breastplate and on his shoulder.
And Christ said, your names are on the palms of my hand. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Cry to her. Her warfare is accomplished. Her iniquity is pardoned. She
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Not only pardon, but a love. Adoption. Not only forgiveness,
but full, complete justification. Mercy. Not only mercy, but truth.
Righteousness and peace. Double, double. Verse 5 in our text, So she received
a double portion, for he loved Hannah. It plainly says that,
doesn't it? He loved Hannah. There's about
one verse of scripture that this whole world knows, John 3, 16.
And they don't know what that means. They don't know John 3,
14 and 15. They don't know John 3, 17 and
18. They don't know John 3, 36, which
says the wrath of God abides upon somebody. The love of God
and the wrath of God can't abide on the same person. John 3, 18,
there's some people that are condemned already. You can't
be loved by God and be condemned by God. The love of God is everlasting. Jeremiah 31, he says, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love. Who is he talking to? Israel. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
I have what? Somebody say it. Drawn thee. Means, is she coming? Yes, she
is. She's coming. And she'll never
leave. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me. Doesn't
it say that? No man can come unto me, except
the Father which hath sent me do what? Draw them. No, God doesn't love every single
human being. If He did, they'd all be saved. It plainly says God loved Hannah,
and it plainly says, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And all along, I could give you
scripture after scripture, but I'm not here to talk about God's
hatred. I'm here to talk about His love. His love is particular
for His people. His love is perfect love cast
out fear. If God loves everybody and somebody
goes to hell anyway, how does that give you any peace? How
does that give you any comfort? He might love you today and leave
you tomorrow. That's man's love. That's not God's love. His love
is eternal. His love doesn't fail. His love. Hosea 3 says, Go love
a woman, an adulterer, as the love of God is toward Israel. His people, they represent God's
elect. Malachi 1, How have you loved me? Well, was not Esau
Jacob's brother? But I loved Jacob and I hated
Esau. That's particular. That's electing
love. There's no other kind. That's God's love. It's eternal
love. God committed his love toward
us while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. That's who
Christ died for. That was God's love. I've got
going on and on and on with this. Scripture is full of God's particular,
eternal, saving love, and it's all in Christ. Because God loved
His people, He sent their husband, Christ, our Lord, to this world
to save them from their sin. Did He do it? I just read it
to you. Yes, He did. Their warfare was
accomplished. Her iniquities pardoned. But
the Lord had shut up her womb. She was barren. And you know,
all of God's people are barren. They don't bear any fruit. They
don't bear the fruit of love toward God, joy in Christ, peace
in Christ. They don't know what peace is,
long-suffering, and faith. They don't have faith in Christ.
They're barren, aren't they? You hath he quickened who were what?
Dead. What's dead, man? What do you
mean, what's dead, man? People are fools, aren't they?
Dead's dead. Bernard used to say, graveyard
dead. Now that's dead. Like Lazarus, he don't open that
tomb, he stinks. Stinking dead. Well, how's he
going to live? Can these bones live? The Lord
said to Ezekiel, only through you. Preach. Watch. That's how, what I'm doing right
here, what the world calls foolishness. Born again. New creature. Dead. She's barren, and she knows it,
and she's mourning. She's grieving over her barrenness. Look at verse, and her adversary,
verse six, provoked her sore, though she, Lord, had shut up
her womb. We're shut up, aren't we? The Lord shut us up to what?
Faith, right? We're shut up to faith, meaning
if the Lord doesn't save me, I'm not going to be saved. Keep me, I'm not going to be
kept. If the Lord doesn't teach me, I'm not going to know anything.
If the Lord hadn't come down here and the Lord doesn't love
me, I'm a goner. Shut up to faith. But she didn't
have any fruit. She's going to. She's going to
bear fruit. And her adversary provoked her, made her defray
it, because look at all the fruit I bore. Look at what all I've
done. Isn't that what religion, look
how big our buildings are. Look how many we have in Sunday
school. Look how many y'all have. Isn't that what religion counts
success? Isn't that what religion counts
the blessing of God? Noah, how many of you have in
your ark? Seven? We got 700 in Sunday morning. Who are the people of God? The truth has always been in
the minority. Starting in Genesis, right? Noah, there were billions of
people on planet earth. And when it was all over, eight
souls were saved. Why? Why were they saved? Because God chose them. Where
were they? In an ark. Who put them there? Christ did. Who shut them up?
Christ did. What is that ark? You know what most seminary professors
do not know. The truth is in the minority. Always has been. Many are called.
Many here. Few are chosen to understand.
Few are chosen to believe. Few are chosen. They asked the
Lord, Lord are there few that be saved? Right? When it was all over, when our
Lord left this earth, there were 120 disciples in a room. Think about that. There were
so many people that crowded around him when he was on earth. Vast
multitudes, multitudes, tens of thousands of thousands. And
finally, they all wanted him dead. And when it was over, there
were 120 disciples in that upper room. Truth's always been the minority.
We want people to come in the ark. We want the people to come
to Christ. We're not going to compromise the truth. And there's
one way people are going to get to Christ. Preaching Christ. Well, this woman was boasting
what all she had and how big her family was and all that.
And that's what the false church does. That's what professors
boast in, their work, their numbers. The lamb's wife boasts in her
Lord. The false church thinks bigger
is better. More is better. The bride of
Christ says Christ is better. Look at verse eight. Don't you
love this? Elkanah, her husband, said to her, who is he speaking
to? He never said a word to Penina. This story, he doesn't speak
a word to Penina. He just gives things to her.
And he gives the world to the world. But his beloved, his bride
that he loved, he speaks to her. He speaks peace to her. He gives
her a double portion. He spoke to her. And look at
this. Have you heard this before? Hannah,
why weepest thou? Woman, why weepest thou? Have
you ever heard that? Who said that? Jesus Christ said
that at the tomb to Mary, a poor woman, weeping. They've taken
away my Lord. Oh, no, they haven't taken away
your Lord. They haven't done anything to
you, Lord. They tried to kill your Lord. Your God, your Lord's
Father killed your Lord, and now he raised his Lord. And he
said, Woman, why weepest thou? He said, Mary, Mary. He spoke
to his bride, Mary. Has he spoken to you? I know
he has. Look at what he said. Why eatest
thou not? Why is thy heart grieved? Am
not I better to thee than ten sons? I need to entitle this, Christ
is better than everything and everyone. Would you rather have a thousand
members in here in a gymnasium and a family life center and
a coffee shop and, you know, a donut shop and, you know, a
big buck contest and a woman's fashion show and a golf tournament
and a strawberry festival? Or would you rather have the
gospel? They're not doing any of that
stuff in glory. They're doing one thing. Worshipping
the Lamb. And that's what the true church
does here. Nothing more, nothing less. Isn't that right? It's
so. Look at all this. The Lord must
be in it. No. That's a pretty good sign He's
not. Ichabod's on the door. He's got all this stuff. He don't
have Christ. He don't have his love. It's
obvious. Is not Christ in the gospel better
than all that religion has to offer? Some of you were in religion. You were in religion, weren't
you? Some of you were in religion. Is not this gospel better than
anything you've ever had before? Alright, there's a conflict. Hannah has an adversary. And
this woman, supposed to be her sister, I don't know what she's
called, second wife, but it's called her adversary. And she's
provoking her, provoking her, provoking her. There's a conflict
between the true and the false. There always will be. And this
woman is called the adversary. The adversary, she provokes her,
especially when she goes up to worship. Verse 7, she went up
yearly to worship. The Lord and her adversary provoked
her and made her weep and cry. As said, the truth has always
been in the minority and the truth has always been persecuted.
The true church is always persecuted. False religion is not persecuted. All through the Revelation, the
great whore has the money and the business of the whole world,
doesn't it? Everybody says he's in bed with
her, and they're all getting rich because of her, and they're
doing just fine, and everybody loves her. What's not to love? God loves you. Jesus died for
you. We want you in our church. We
can't do without you. You're somebody. You're in charge
of your own destiny, and what's to hate about that? Unless you
know the truth. But the truth is hated. Truth
of who God really is, of what man really is, what salvation
is, and where it is. Not you, it's Him. Nothing about
you. Not your choice, not your work,
not your decision, not your will, not your nothing. It's Him. All up to Him. Man doesn't like
that. And you can't figure it out. He has to reveal it to you. Wise man doesn't like that. Boy,
poor, contrite, barren sinners do. Note that. Helpless, hopeless
sinners. Nothing. I'm a nothing. Now let me close this out. How
do you know a true child of God from a false one? How do you
know? And as I said, the church has
always been persecuted. Beginning in Genesis, and our
Lord said in John 15, Marvel not, my brethren, if the world
hates you. In his prayer he said, I don't pray for the world, I
pray for those that God's given me. I'm not praying for the world.
He said, I've given them thy word and the world hates them.
He plainly said it's his people and there's the world. He's not
praying for the world, he's praying for his people. Isn't it? So
anybody that says other than that is a false gospel. Is that too plain? There's no
gray area here. Well, she's persecuted. How do
you know someone's a true child of God? She's mourning. She's
weeping. She's crying. She's broken hearted. She's got a contrite heart. She's
praying. She's calling on the Lord. There's
no mention of Penita doing any of that. The other one. Is it? Do you see the other one praying
and calling and mourning and crying? And religion is happy,
happy, happy, happy, happy. Everybody happy, say amen. The
Scripture says, let your laughter be turned to mourning. Christ
said, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that
mourn. God's people know that. She's mourning, she's poor, she's
broke. In Philippians 3, Verse 3, it gives three things. You
can remember that. Philippians 3, 3, three things.
The true circumcision. Three things. Philippians 3,
3. I'm going to ask you next week. You're going to stand up
and tell me. Philippians 3, 3 are three marks
of the true circumcision, the true people of God. Do you know
them? They worship God in spirit. This whole story is about Elkanah
and his wife worshipping, worshipping, worshipping, worshipping, worshipping.
Look at verse 19. It says they rose up in the morning
early to worship. Verse 3, the man went up to worship
and Hannah went with him. Worship, worship, worship. They worshipped God in the spirit.
They come to the house of God to Shiloh, to the temple of God. to do one thing. That's it. Second thing, they
rejoice in Christ Jesus. Look at chapter 2, verse 1. It's her prayer after this is
over. Hannah prayed and said, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord. And Kara, sister, she doesn't
mention that boy. She does not mention one material
thing. She doesn't mention her family,
doesn't mention her home, doesn't mention her son. All she talks
about is the salvation of the Lord, the sovereignty of God. That's all she talks about. She's
worshiping God. She's rejoicing in Christ Jesus.
He is her principal cause for joy and Oh, she loved her son. She was so thankful the Lord
gave her a son. But he is not her chief cause of joy. Jesus
Christ is. That's how you know the true
people of God. And she took that only child
she had and committed him to the Lord. You gave him to me. He's yours. You lent him to me. Now I'm bringing him back to
you. Take him. Please. Please. She wasn't concerned
about him being a doctor or a lawyer or this and that and the other.
She's concerned about him belonging to the Lord. That's how you know
somebody knows the Lord. That's how you know somebody's
a bride of Christ. If they're married to Him, they
want their son and their daughter to be married to Christ. More
than anything on this earth. She's casting all her care on
the Lord. She's committing everything she
has to the Lord. Because He's the one that gave
them to her. He's going to take him away eventually.
So she says, Lord, here, take him. I want him to be yours. That's all my desire. Worship God the Spirit. Rejoice
in Christ Jesus. And have no confidence in the
flesh. Three things. Philippians 3,
3. Three things. No flesh. No flesh. There's no flesh in our worship.
There's no flesh in salvation. Look at chapter 2, look at her
prayer. She says in verse 5, the Lord,
the fool have hired out themselves for bread. The hungry cease. The barren is born seven. She that hath many children wax
feeble. The Lord killeth and maketh the light. He brings down
to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor. The Lord
makes thrift. He brings low. He lifteth up.
He raises up the poor out of the dust. No flesh. Flesh doesn't
have anything to do with it. We don't acknowledge the flesh. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
not a cooperative effort between us and God. It's not God and
man. It's not flesh and spirit. It's
Spirit. Born of the Spirit. Born of God. It's His Word. 100% His Word. And she knew it.
She knew it. I have this son because God gave
him to me. 100%. I have this loving husband
because God gave him to me. I belong to the Lord because
God chose me. God elected me. God saved me. I had nothing to do with it.
No flesh. There was no flesh involved in it. I don't have
confidence in my flag. I don't have confidence in your
flag. I don't have confidence in anybody's flag. All of God's
people have confidence in one person. The Lord of Glory. All our trust in Him. And as
said, she was persecuted. This is a mark. A definite mark
of the true bride of Christ. All of them, without exception,
are persecuted by those that say they are the children of
God. Without exception. That's what 1 Thessalonians says.
You receive the word of God with persecution. I know your leg,
because God saved you and called you. And you receive the word
with persecution, because the world hates the truth. Why do
you love it? Grace. You received the love
of the truth. Period. Okay, stand with me.