Turn with me to the book of Psalms,
number 135. Psalm 135. And let's start by
reading this together. Psalm 135. The few psalms before this were
called songs of degrees, from what I understand, as the people
would go up on the Sabbath to the temple in Jerusalem that
David and Solomon had designed for them to sing certain psalms,
play the instruments as they marched on up to Jerusalem. There are about 13 or 14 of those
psalms of degrees. And this is the psalm, 135, is
the psalm after those degrees. And as we read it, you'll understand
why. We're at the house of God, the temple, Jerusalem. And he
says, praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord.
Praise him, all ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the
house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise
the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praises unto his name, for
it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. For I
know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all
gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places. He causes the vapors to ascend
from the ends of the earth. He maketh the lightnings for
the rain. He bringeth the wind out of his
treasures. who smote the firstborn of Egypt,
both man and beast, who sent tokens and wonders into the midst
of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants, who
smote great nations and slew mighty kings, Sion, king of the
Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
and gave their land for an heritage, and heritage unto Israel his
people. Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever,
and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations. For the Lord
will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning
his servants. The idols of the heathen are
silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths,
but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Neither is there any breath in
their mouths. They that make them are like
unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them. Bless the Lord,
O house of Israel. Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron. Bless the Lord, O house of Levi. Ye that fear the Lord, bless
the Lord. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
which dwelleth in Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. I want to draw our attention
back to verse four. Verse four, for the Lord hath
chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure. Tonight, Lord willing, I'd like
to talk to us about God's peculiar people. God's peculiar people. Now, peculiar doesn't mean weird. Although there might be some
of those people who are weird, I couldn't say. But peculiar
doesn't mean weird. Peculiar means separated, set
apart, holy, just for God. This is God's view of his people. 12 times. In the Old Testament,
New Testament together, 12 times the word peculiar is used, or
it's translated another way from the same word. 12 times, by Lord
willing, we're going to look at all 12 of those times as we
go through the scripture here, because they refer, the word
peculiar refers to God's people. The word peculiar is used those
12 times in scripture, and it refers to the people that God
has chosen for himself, those that he sanctified, justified,
and glorified, those that he called to himself. Their peculiarity is not in who
they are. but in what God did for them
and made them. They are his property. They are
preserved for his glory. All the works that God has done,
he has done on their behalf. Grace and mercy, have been bestowed
on his peculiar people. Our Lord chose some and passed
by others for his own glory. The choice was made ever the
world began. This is what we call sovereign
and free grace because that's the result of God's choice. his eternal covenant with his
son. God has a people. Jesus Christ
gave himself for those people and the spirit of God effectually
calls those people to God. Is the Lord fair? A lot of people
say, well, election and God's choosing like that, what you
all talk about, that's not fair. Well, let me ask you, do you
want God to be fair with you? I don't. Because if God is fair
with me, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. That's a fair God. We're all sinners before a holy
God. But God made a choice among all
these sinners of some. The word peculiar in the Old
Testament means a possession, a property. We are a possession
of God. We're the property of God. God's the creator. He made everything,
the word of His mouth, He spoke it into existence. And if God
created everything, don't you think He has the right to do
with it whatever He wants? The word in the Old Testament
peculiar is translated two or three other different ways. We'll
see it here a little bit. It's translated special, God's
special people. It's translated jewels, God's
jewels. It's translated treasure. God's treasure. In the New Testament,
it means essentially the same thing. In the New Testament,
the word that's used for peculiar means a prepared people. God prepared this. An acquired
people, God bought them. An ordained people, God providentially
ordained them to be his own and come to him. And it's translated,
besides peculiar, a purchased possession. I like that, don't
you? A purchased. possession. He bought me. We are bought with a price. Therefore,
we should glorify God in our body and in our spirit. We're
a purchased possession. The word obtain, it's translated
the word obtain. We'll see that in a little bit.
And it's also translated to the saving of the soul. I'm glad
he saved me. I'm glad he chose me. But you
know what? He did it for no other reason
than his own purpose. There's nothing in you and nothing
in me, never was anything in you, never was anything in me
that would turn God's head to us. Other than the fact that
before this world was made, God made a choice. God chose. he elected. Now God's people
are peculiar in the names that our Lord gives them. My people,
my sheep, my lambs, saints, my church, my disciples, his jewels,
his treasure, his inheritance, a special people, and his bride
among many other names. that is given to these peculiar
people. They're peculiar in their station
in this world. They're not of this world. They're
strangers and pilgrims. They're a holy habitation unto
the Lord. They are the building of God. They're His bride. They're sinners
saved by grace. They're heirs and joint heirs
with Jesus Christ, among many other things. that God says about
His people. They're peculiar in what the
Lord has done for them. They're born again. They've been
given a new heart. They're conformed to the image
of Christ. They're made His righteousness. They're given newness of life. They're made partakers of the
divine nature. They are spiritual Israel. They're
blameless. They're without spot. They're
thoughtless. That's how God sees them, his
people, his peculiar people. but especially in the eternal
acts of God. You see, he's the lamb slain
before the foundation of the world. He's always been the lamb
of God. He's always been the sacrifice. God sent his son and eternally
he substituted himself for all those peculiar chosen people. He took our place. The soul that
sinneth, it shall die. He died the death of the cross. for His people. He sanctified
Him. He sacrificed Himself on the
cross. He shed His blood. Through that
we have redemption. We have the remission of sins.
We have forgiveness. He put away our sin. He purged
our sin. He paid for every one of our
sins. He has parted us from sin. He did all that when He gave
Himself for us on the cross. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son. And Jesus said, and I, if I be
lifted up, I'll draw all these men to me. He died. He was buried. He rose again the third day for
our justification. Proof positive. God brought him
from the dead. Proof positive. God was satisfied
with his son. Proof positive that when Jesus
said it, I will raise them up at the last day, he was the forerunner. He's the first fruits of the
dead. And then he ascended into glory,
seated at the right hand of the father, there to appear for us. He intercedes for us. He knows
how weak we are. He knows how sinful we are, but
he intercedes for us. That's God's peculiar people,
because God is sovereign. He does what he wants, when he
wants, however he wants, to whomever he wants, and no one can stay
his hand. His will is done in heaven as
well as on earth. He makes willing His peculiar
people in the day of His power. He is God and beside Him there
is no other. And He will always do the right
thing for His peculiar people. His eternal covenant of grace
is as sure as He is God. We who have been called by the
Lord, we who have been chosen by the Lord know that we're a
peculiar people, not because of who we are, but because of
what he did for every one of his people. Now we're gonna do
a scripture search. I hope you can keep up with me.
If you can't, that's all right. I will try my best to read these
verses correctly to us. but we're going to do a scripture
search. And among the scriptures, we're going to see all 12 times
that the word peculiar is used, whether it's the word peculiar
or one of its other translations in scripture and see how that
applies to us. Number one, his people are peculiar
because they are chosen by the Lord. Let's go to Deuteronomy
chapter seven, Deuteronomy chapter seven. Deuteronomy chapter seven, beginning
in verse six. The Lord God is speaking and
says, for thou and holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord
thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people. That's our word peculiar. a special
people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face
of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people, but because
the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which
he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen
from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that
the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth
covenant and mercy unto them that love him and keep his commandments
to a thousand generations and repayeth them that hate him to
their face to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that
hated him. He will repay him to his face. The Lord has chosen. Here's Israel
that the Lord has brought out of the land of Egypt. As a matter
of fact, this is the second generation in Deuteronomy. Forty years the
Lord had them wander around in the wilderness until all but
two of them died, Joshua and Caleb. Moses said he'll be dying
before he goes into the promised land. And God says to them, you
are a special people. Not because you were a great
nation, not because there's something special about you personally,
because I loved you. I loved you. I've loved you with
an everlasting love. Loved you with an everlasting
love, therefore with cords of loving kindness have I drawn
thee just because I love you. That's why. His people are a
peculiar people because they are chosen of the Lord. Look
at Deuteronomy 14. Deuteronomy 14. Deuteronomy 14.2 says, For thou
art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen
thee to be a peculiar people unto himself above all nations
that are upon the face of the earth. This was his eternal choice. This was his sovereign choice. You will be my peculiar people. This was his loving choice. Look
at, let's go to the New Testament. Look at Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians chapter one. Ephesians chapter one, let's
begin with verse 11. Speaking of Jesus Christ, in
whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise
of his glory who first trusted in Christ. in whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance,
until the redemption of the purchased possession." Those two words
are words peculiar. His purchased possession, unto
the praise of His glory. We are His purchased possession,
bought us. We belong to Him. We are part
and parcel of Him. Look in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2.
In 1 Peter 2, let's begin with verse 9. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation of peculiar people. that ye should show forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but now
the people of God, which have not obtained mercy, but now obtain
mercy." That's God's peculiar people. This is what God is doing
for them. Turn back a few pages to 2 Timothy
1. We know these verses well, at
least by hearing them read several times. But in 2 Timothy 1 and
verse 9, speaking again of Jesus Christ, who hath saved us and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. That's his purpose. That's his purpose for his people.
All of us serve a purpose. God doesn't serve a purpose.
He is the purpose. And all he's done, he's purposed.
And his people are the result of that purpose. And what he's
done, he's promised. Turn back again to Deuteronomy
chapter 26. Deuteronomy chapter 26. Deuteronomy
chapter 26. Let's begin with verse 16. This day, the Lord thy God hath
commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments. Thou shalt therefore
keep and do them with all thine heart, with all thy soul. Thou hast avouced the Lord this
day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his
statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken
unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouced thee
this day to be his peculiar people." The Lord has avouced. thee this
day to be his peculiar people. We had nothing to do with any
of this. God purposed it. God performed it. It's a done
deal. God did it all. God did it all. We had nothing to do with it.
Even the Lord, when he was talking to his disciples, said, you have
not chosen me, but I've chosen you. I've chosen you. Who causes
thee to differ? God does, not you, not me. Who causes us to differ? God
does. We're his peculiar people because
we're chosen by the Lord. We're his peculiar people because
we are treasured by the Lord. Look at Exodus, just back a few
books there. Exodus chapter 19. Exodus 19, and let's begin with
verse one. In the third month, when the
children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt,
the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they
were departed from Rephidim and were come to the desert of Sinai,
and had pitched in the wilderness, and there Israel camped before
the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and
the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus
shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children
of Israel, Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and
how I bear you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now, therefore, if you will obey
my voice indeed and keep my commandments, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure
unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. Everything
belongs to Him, and we have become His peculiar treasure. They shall be my people. I will
be their God. I will, they shall. Just as simple
as that. They shall be my people. I will
be their God. You see, he is the one who is
bringing many sons to glory. He's the one who is the captain
of our salvation, treasured by the Lord. How so? Look at Malachi
chapter three. Malachi, that's the last book
of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter three. Malachi chapter 3, we'll begin
with verse 16. Malachi 3, verse 16. Then they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard
him, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them
that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. And they
shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I
make up my jewels. That's the same word peculiar.
when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spareth
his own son that serveth him. Then shall you return and discern
between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth
God and him that serveth him not. Treasured of the Lord. It's like, uh, the babe that
was thrown out in Ezekiel chapter 16. And the Lord spread his skirt
over the babe and said, this is the time of love and said,
live. And that child was living. Not only that, but he clothed
the child. And then he gave ornaments to
the child and decked him with beautiful jewels and everything. And the Lord said, turn with
me. Ezekiel 16. Let me show you what the Lord
said. Ezekiel 16 verse 11. Ezekiel 16, verse 11, I deck
thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hand,
and a chain on thy neck, and I put a jewel on thy forehead,
and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine
head. Thus was thou decked with gold
and silver, and thy raiment of fine linen and silk broidered
work. Thou didst eat fine flour and
honey and oil, and thou was exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper
into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty. Now notice this, for it was perfect
through my comeliness. which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord God. We're God's peculiar people because
we are chosen by the Lord, because we are treasured by the Lord.
Now, if you'll turn with me to Titus chapter two, we'll look
at another one. Titus chapter two. In Titus chapter 2, let's begin
with verse 11. For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior,
Jesus Christ. who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. His people are peculiar because
they are redeemed by the Lord. He bought and paid for them.
When you buy something and pay for it, you expect to have it,
don't you? Sometimes we order over the internet,
and they say you'll have it in two to four days, or four to
10 days, and sometimes three or four weeks later, you get
a notice that it's on its way. Well, God bought and paid for
you and me, ere the world ever began. He was the lamb slain
before the foundation of the world. He bought and paid for
you and me on the cross. His blood was shed. We are, as we read already in
Ephesians chapter one, verse 14, we are his purchased possession. Peculiar people, because we are
His purchased possession. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
because He will save His people, His people, from their sins. His peculiar people, the ones
that belong to Him. Look in Hebrews chapter just
over a few pages there, in Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20.
Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing
in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and
ever. You see, it's the blood of the
everlasting covenant. is the blood that Jesus Christ
shed for you and me. From the garden to the time he
said, it is finished, and gave up the ghost and died. That blood
was shed for his people. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. There is no forgiveness. Without
the shedding of blood, our Lord shed his blood for you and me. He redeemed us. He bought us
with a price that could never be matched. A price that we would
never want to be matched. The price of his blood for you
and me. We are his people because we
are called by the Lord. Look at 2 Thessalonians, just
back a few pages there. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2,
2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and we'll begin with verse 13. Paul speaks and says, but we
are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God has 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. That word obtaining is
our word, peculiar. to the peculiarity of the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are called by the Lord. We have obtained salvation from
the Lord, and we want to glorify the Lord who called us, don't
we? You see, that's that effectual
calling. I have kept them in thy name,
the Lord Jesus said. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, he tells us. I know my sheep and they follow
me. My sheep hear my voice. That's the effectual calling
of our God, called to obtain this salvation to the glory. of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
how are we called? Well, one day I sat right over
there, somewhere in that vicinity. I don't know if I was on the
end or back inside there a little bit, but I sat right there. And
Pastor Donnie preached a message. I'd heard several of them so
far. I'd been studying. And Pastor Donnie preached a
message. And I couldn't tell you which message it was. But
all of a sudden, that's the truth. That's the truth. And I couldn't
get away from it. That's the truth. My life had
been a lie. I'd preached a lie for 40 years. And then the truth came. The
Lord Jesus effectually called me. I couldn't tell you exactly
when, but I know that some eight or nine years ago, the Lord called
me and saved me and gave me a blessed hope, a truth that just filled
my heart. For so long I understood not
and thought I did. And it was through the preaching
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For whosoever shall call upon
the Lord, well, how are they going to call? They got to have
a preacher. They got to hear it. They got
to believe it. There has to be the preaching of the word of
God. It's foolishness to others, but
not to us. It's the power of God unto salvation. That's what the gospel is. That's
what the preaching of the gospel is. I don't know if you could
ever give a definition of the preaching of the gospel, but
I think that's about as close as you can get. It's the power
of God unto salvation. And God gives us hearing ears,
and we hear it, and faith comes by hearing, doesn't it? We hear
it, and then we believe. That's the truth. God's peculiar
people are called by the Lord. One more thing I want to share
with us. They are peculiar people because
they are of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Turn
with me to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Back to the
right a few pages again. Hebrews chapter 10. His people are peculiar because
they are of those that believe to the saving of the soul. Go
down to the end of the chapter 10, verse 38 and 39. Paul says, now the just shall
live by faith. But if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who
draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving
of the soul. The word saving there is our
word peculiar. But of them that believe to the
saving. Something happened peculiarly
in their soul. Something happened to them. Faith
came to them, they heard the word of God. For by grace are
you saved through faith. That not of yourselves, it's
a gift of God. We're not of those who draw back,
who withdraw, who keep back, who hold back, but we are saved
from the wrath to come. Turn to Romans chapter five,
Romans chapter five. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 says,
In Romans 5a, it says, but God commended his love toward us
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. That
word saved is our word peculiar. We're peculiar because he said
we'll never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. I and my father are one. My father
is greater than me and no man is going to be able to pluck
them out of my father's hand. We'll never perish. We're peculiar
because we'll never perish. We're of a people that God has
purposed a salvation that takes, from our point of view, from
birth to glory. and nothing to stop it. Now,
if that don't give us hope, if that don't bless your heart,
if that don't comfort you, then let me just say this, where else
would you go? The disciple says, where else
could we go? Thou hast the words of life.
Where else would you go? There's no other sacrifice for
sin, not one. He died once and for all for
his people. Where else would you go? than
the Lord Jesus Christ who made us peculiar. Thank you, Heavenly
Father, for your word. Thank you for the attention that
we had. Oh, Father, give us hearing ears to know that you did this,
all this, and more for your people. In Jesus' name, amen.