All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to the book of the prophet Jeremiah, chapter one. Jeremiah, chapter one. I will read while you're finding
that, I will begin reading Jeremiah, chapter one, read the first several
verses. The words of Jeremiah, the son
of Hilkiah, of the priests that were at Anathoth in the land
of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days
of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth
year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim,
the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh
year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the
carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. Then the
word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth
out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations. Then said I, then said I, O Lord
God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child. But the Lord
said unto me, Say not, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that
I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces,
for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the
Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto
me, behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have set
thee this, I have set this day. Let me read that again. See, I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and to pull
down and to destroy and to throw down and to build and to plant. Now no preacher or pastor who
is called of God can read this passage without going to the
text I plan on going to first this morning, and that's verses
four and five. God willing, I do plan on trying
to get to verse 10. But this morning, I want us to
concentrate on verses four and five. You see it? Then the word
of the Lord came unto me, saying, this is the first thing that
we know that God said to Jeremiah. Yes, sir. Before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou camest forth
out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations. Let me just say first of all,
as with Jeremiah, we're prone, we're prone in this day, men
and women are prone to look upon these prophets, men like Moses
and Abraham, as though they were extraordinary men and women.
They were not. They were men and women of like
passions even as we are. The power and the glory and the
excellency of the gospel is not found in the vessel that carries
the gospel, for that vessel is but a clay pot. But what's in
the vessel that God's ordained to be sounded forth is the most
glorious thing that men and women will ever hear. And again, I'll
say, as with Jeremiah, so it is with all of God's elect. These three things, before the
Lord God ever created us, he knew us. That's the first thing. Secondly, before we were even
born, the Lord sanctified us. That's the second thing. Thirdly,
and the Lord has ordained for each and every one of his elect
a place in the body of Christ. I realize there are some who
mock these things. There are others who pervert
these things. Now you ask, what does this really
mean? It means exactly what it says. We often speak of some
things as great mysteries. God manifest in the flesh, that's
a great mystery. This is not a great mystery,
this is a great revelation. This is clearly delineated for
us in the words of scripture. So while some may mock, others
may pervert, and some limit this. Well, yes, God does that on certain
occasions, like a Jeremiah, or a Moses, or an Abraham. Every
person God's ever saved, he saved just like this right here. Just
like this right here. What is true of one of God's
people is true of all of God's people. And what is true of all
of God's people, God's people individually experience these
things. So let the scoffers rage all
they will. Our responsibility, Joe, is not
to silence them, but to expose them. Expose them. So let the scoffers rage, because
our God's gracious, merciful, compassionate purpose of true
wisdom has withstood their assaults for at least some 6,000 years. I didn't say 2,000 years. I said
at least some 6,000 years. God's truth was assaulted right
from the get-go, even when our parents offended God in the garden. And our brother Cain turned his
back on God and despised God's ordained way and he was exposed
for his evil. God even told him, if you do
right, won't you be accepted? And that's a universal truth
that could be said to any son or daughter of Adam. Somebody
says, but you believe in election and reprobation. No, I believe
in God, who elected some and reprobated others. Exactly. But even to the reprobate, if
they would do right, Mason, they'd be accepted. Yes, sir. That's
a universal truth. This is the title of my message,
Formed, Known, Sanctified, and Ordained. Amen. You hear it? Formed, known, sanctified and
ordained. Now, first of all, let us note
clearly that the Lord himself and the Lord alone is the determining
active agent in all of this. I, I, I, God said, didn't he? Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb,
I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
And if anyone thinks that God looked into the future to see
what Jeremiah would do, well look at the way Jeremiah responded
immediately after this. I can't do anything. He wasn't
talking about Jeremiah. God said, I've done this. And
then Jeremiah, as we all were prone to do, but what about me?
Aren't you glad it didn't have to do anything with you? I was taught years ago when I
was in false Christianity. that God's election was kind
of at least something like this. God looks into the future or
God looked into the future and seeing who would believe or repent
or be faithful or whatever and God chose them or God chose whoever
would believe in the Son. Let me tell you, God's never
looked into the future. God decreed the future from the beginning.
God is not a soothsayer. He's the almighty sovereign king
of heaven and earth who preordains everything according to his sovereign
will. The book never says God looks
into the future. It said, God looked down from
heaven upon the sons of men. And what did God see? Corruption,
filth, and vileness, and rebellion, and unbelief, and hatred, and
murder, and lies. That's what God says he seen.
And Mason, God did that before man ever even existed. He looked
down from heaven upon the sons of men, how? In his own mind,
in his own sovereign purpose. He didn't look into the future,
he created the future. You don't have to look into the
future, Mason, when you've got absolute control of it, do you? But that's why men and women
today make such statements because they, it's not that they're not
preaching God, they're not preaching God as God. They talk about the
Lord Jesus Christ being God manifest in the flesh, but they don't
even know who God is. Therefore, they have no idea
what it means for God to be made flesh. So again, the Lord himself. Never forget this. Let us never
forget this. Oh God, help us not to forget
this. The Lord himself and the Lord
alone is the determining, active accomplisher of his gracious
design. It all depends, the goal being
reached all depends on God himself. If God has ever failed to do
anything he purposed to do, then God is a failure. If God ever wants anything and
doesn't have it, Joe, he's a failure. But our God is no failure. So let's park for a few moments
on these three glorious things that are mentioned in the text.
And I will tell you now most of my words will concentrate
on the first one and then a few lesser words on the second one
and even fewer on the third one. Because one reason being is if
you don't get the first one right you're not going to have the
other two right. If you go off kilter on the first one, you're
not gonna be on line with the second and the third one. That's
just actual logic. It's just the way it works. Now,
here's what he said again. Before I formed thee in the belly,
I knew you. Isn't that what he said? I knew
you. Secondly, and before you even came out of the womb, I
sanctified you. And then he says to Jeremiah,
and I ordain thee a prophet unto the nations. Not even just to
Israel or to Judah, which was split at that time, if my memory
serves me correctly, but to the nations. Any who tout man's foreseen action
and qualities as the reason for God's choice is a liar. Look at verses six through nine
again. Who Jeremiah was and what Jeremiah would do was based upon
what God Almighty had purposed for Jeremiah to do. One used
the illustration and I may not get it exactly as he gave it,
but what religion does today when they say God looked into
the future? God's seen who would believe, or God's seen who would
repent, or God's seen who would join the church, whatever they
use. God looked in the future. Okay, here's the illustration.
You have 10 men out there, and they're all born, dead, blind
beggars. They have nothing. And God's
design is I'm gonna bless the one that has a dollar. Hmm? Now how in the world does
God look upon the sons of men and say, I'm gonna bless that
one who has the dollar, and you come up with a dollar, you can't
do it. You're blind, you're dead, you have nothing, you're a beggar.
God is the one who gives the dollar. And he gives the dollar
to whom he pleases. Now that's just an illustration. Now first of all, Let me say
that embedded in our text, that's the first part of verse five.
Embedded in our text is a universal truth that is true of all mankind
without exception. Here it is. I formed thee in
the belly. That's true of all mankind. I don't care whether they're
elect or rebel, they're reproductive. I don't care if they're regenerate
or unregenerate. I don't care who they are, what
station they hold, what position they hold in life, God Almighty
forms everyone in the belly. He is the creator of all mankind. What did Paul say to the people
on that one, was it Mars Hill? He said, in Him we live and move
and have our being. He gives life and breath to all. But he never says to all, before
I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. We can say that he formed
each and every individual that's ever been or ever will be on
this earth. God Almighty formed them in the
belly. We talk about procreation, but
it is not truly a creation. It is taking what God Almighty
has sovereignly ordained and a man and a woman coming together
and life that's there from God gets joined together and creates,
God creates an individual. And this is clear. There are
some men and women who are barren and cannot conceive, Mason. That
lays in the sovereign hand of God. But, but that's as far as
universalism goes. That's as far as universalism
goes. God formed everyone in the belly, but God did not know
everyone before he formed them in the belly. Now, first of all,
this is not an assault against God's omniscience. God knows
about everyone. God knows all things about everyone. And God Almighty has ordained
the boundaries in which they operate. That's what Paul also
said back in Acts chapter 17, verses 22. He's determined the
bounds of our habitation. You live where you live. Every
individual on the face of this earth lives where they live,
because God Almighty put them there. And if they move somewhere
else, it's because God ordained for them to move somewhere else.
If they stay where they're at, if they die where they're at,
if they move to another place and die where they're at, it's
because God Almighty ordained that to be so. Now God knows. God knows. And God being eternal,
thus the scripture often calls it God foreknowing. Because he's
eternal. God knows. He foreknows a certain
people only. You hear what I said? God knows
all about all men, but God does not know all men. He told the ancient people of
Israel, you only of all the families of the earth, you only have I
known. Was God saying he was ignorant of all the other nations?
Of course not. Of course not. God knew everything
about every individual at any given time on this terrestrial
ball. But God knows only certain people.
And even amongst the Jews, what did the Apostle Paul, what was
he clear about? I say then, if God cast away his people, and
automatically some of us says no, some people were cast away. Some Jews were cast away. And
the Jews as a nation were cast away. Look at what he says. I
say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid, because
look at what he said. For I am also an Israelite of
the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast
away his people, which he foreknew. But every Israelite who was not
foreknown was cast off. As a matter of fact, in this
very chapter, he says of those Jews who don't believe that they've
been broken off. Isn't that what he says? Now
he's able to graft them back in again. That's his business.
That's his business. But bless God, when he breaks
you off, you're broken off. If he cast you off, it's God
who casts off. But he's never cast away anyone
that he's foreknown. You see? And let me tell you,
that applies to the Gentiles as well. But Paul is specifically
here talking about Jews. God hath not cast away his people,
but then he makes sure we get the qualification which he foreknew. What ye not, what the scripture
saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God against Israel,
saying somebody ain't never supposed to be against Israel. That Israel
you are. That is relied on God, despised
his command. Think of the marvelous treasures
that God gave the nation of Israel. And what did they do? They turned
their back on God every chance they got. Oh, but there was a
group that didn't. There was a group within that
nation. They are the Israel of God. They're the foreknown, look.
maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have
killed thy prophets. Dig down thine authors. I'm left
alone, and they seek my life. And they did this over, over,
over, and over, and over again. But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself. Who's
the active agent there, Mason? God Almighty is. I have reserved
to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to the image
of Baal, even so then at this present time." So that was true
even when Paul was writing this epistle, and that gives me every
reason to say it's absolutely true still yet today. God is
the same. His purpose is the same. It has
not changed. Look, even so then at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. Somebody says, I don't like that.
Then you don't like God. Well, I hate that. Then you hate God because this
is who God is. Because God does what he is. He never acts inconsistent with
his character. And if he chooses a remnant,
that's his business. If he breaks some off because
of unbelief, that's his business. If he takes of the same lump
and makes one to honor and another to dishonor, that's his business.
But every man and woman who's ever saved will give God all
the glory because God gets all the glory. And every man or woman
that's ever damned will be damned because of their personal rebellion
against God. And that's just the way it is.
God knows certain people. All the elect are foreknown.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
But none of us love God by nature, do we? So something, Ellen, had
to transpire to change that to where all of a sudden anyone
becomes a lover of God. Does it not? The Bible says we're
at enmity against God by nature. Oh, but it does say, and we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he did
what? For no. He also did predestinate. Now, if God was just looking
into the future and seeing what would happen, why do you have
to predestinate anything? You see the stupidity and the
lies of today's so-called modern Christianity? When somebody says,
well, you're leaving out our Arminian brethren. That's like
saying I got my Muslim brethren. Or my papal brethren. Because if you're truly an Arminian,
you ain't been called yet. Because when God calls you, you're
going to see your Arminianism was a lie and you're going to
start to begin to get away from it. If you're a papist and God
Almighty calls you, eventually you will start coming out of
that stuff. Look back at history and say, well, come you out from
among her and be separate, sayeth the Lord. Amen. Our Arminian
brethren. Every grace person is a grace
person or they ain't a person at all. That's just the way it
is. God knows only, and all the elect
are foreknown. Christ is quite clear. He give
us a testimony of the future. I didn't say he looked into the
future. He give us a testimony of the future. And he let us
know that some people are not known of God. And he said, I'm
gonna be the one that says it. He says, of course, I'm gonna.
And they're gonna say, Lord, Lord, let us in. I'm paraphrasing,
I'm adding a few things, but it's exactly the context. Lord,
let us in. They're gonna expect to get in. And they're gonna
say, Lord, look at what all we've done. Go back and ask Jeremiah
if you could, was this all up to you? Was this by your design? Was this because of something
God saw in you? No, it's because of what God
put in him. You see it? It's because of what
God put in him. And Christ said, they're gonna
nod and say, Lord, we did this, we did that. He said, you depart
from me, you workers of iniquity. What'd he say? I never knew you. Now he knew all about this. but
he never knew them. What is God's knowing me? What
is God's knowing me? And I don't mean for this just
to be some kind of technical theological lesson. This word,
before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, is the exact same
word used throughout the Hebrew or even throughout the Greek.
It's used for that phrase. that God Almighty uses, that
word know, when a man and a woman come together as husband and
wife, and they are joined as one flesh, and they have sexual
intercourse, and children are produced by that union. That's the same thing it means
spiritually with God's people. That's the meaning of the word.
Did he know all about me? Of course he knew all about me.
Aren't you glad he's still merciful and gracious? Had he Mason picked
me based upon what he seen I would do, I'd have never been picked. I'd have never been picked. What is God's knowing me? Let
me just give you these words. It is God setting his heart and
mind on me in intimate covenant relationship. and I'm sure it
could be said even better, but that's a pretty good explanation
of what this book means when it said God knows someone. Yea,
even God foreknows someone. It is God setting his heart and
mind on me in intimate covenant relationship. To be aware of
me, yes, no doubt about that. Mason, it means all that the
word know implies, or means. It means all of it, but it doesn't
mean just a part of it. See, when people say, well, God
knew me or God foreknew me, it just means God looked and seen
what I would do. It's never used of God foreknowing our actions.
It's God foreknowing us, the individual, the person. He knows
all men's actions, but he only knows and foreknows only some
men and women. See, to be aware, to be aware,
this is God now, is to be aware of me because of and by His purpose
union to me in Jesus Christ. That's how He knew me. He knows
me in His Son. Because outside of His Son, God
knows no man. You hear what I said? God knows.
Now God knows all about all men, even outside of Christ. But he
knows no one except in Christ Jesus. He unites himself to no
one apart from in Christ. And where's that found? When
he chose. Having predestinated. That's what it's all about. That's
where it's all at. So what is God knowing me? He
knew me before I knew him. That's simple enough, right?
He, before I formed thee in the belly, how much did Jeremiah
know then? He didn't exist before then.
You see what I'm saying? He knew me before I knew him. Think of it. He knew me, Joe,
in spite of the fact that I knew him not when I was in my mommy's
belly. When he formed me there, when
I was born out of my mother's womb, when I grew and became
a youngster or a teenager or an adult and I rebelled against
God, he still knew me. He still knew me in spite of
the fact that I did not know him. Oh, I knew about him, but
I still rebelled against him. Part of the reason was because
I began to find out who he was. And God helped me, I didn't like
it. And I refused to know him. Join myself to him. Find myself an intimate relationship
with him. Joe, I refused to do so, God
help me. I refused, but he still knew
me. If he knows you today, it's because he knew you in eternity.
When he knew, you would not know him. You would not know him. He knew me in spite of the fact
that I did not know him. He knew me even when I refused
to know him, he was still knowing me. Isn't that amazing? Now think
about that. I could give a little illustration,
but it only goes so far. How many of us as a husband or
a wife sought after that person before? And in spite of all the
refusals and the turndowns, what did you still do though? You
just kept after it and kept after it and kept after it, huh? Now
the problem is, Mason, I don't have the ability or the right
to demand my wants. But God does. And if God wanted
you in eternity, God had you in eternity. And before he formed
you in the belly, he knew you. And before you came out of your
mommy's womb, he sanctified you and he ordained you a place in
his son's body. Now that is grace and mercy and
compassion. Because I refused. First option,
Joe, I refused to know him. I refused to know him. He knew
me even when I had no power, no ability, and no right to know
him. Remember, as many believed on
him, to them gave he the power, the right, even the right to
become the sons of God. But something had to take place
first before you could even believe and get that right. And that's
to be born of God. That's to be born of God. Think
of it. He united himself to me before
he ever united me to himself. Now that may sound a little convoluted,
but you think about it, this is exactly right. He united himself
to me before he ever united me to himself. He was united to
me in his son even when I refused to unite to him. Look at Saul
of Tarsus, and he said, I'm the prime example of how God saves
sinners. Mason, he hated Jesus Christ
of Nazareth with every speck of his being. And God, in gracious
mercy and compassion, brought that proud rebel down. And I
guarantee you that didn't feel well when it first started. but
oh, what a glory it was nonetheless. What a glory it was. Second,
he united himself to me before he ever united me to himself. Now, if you say I don't like
that, there's two things true about you. One, you don't know
much about yourself. And you know even less about
God. That's just a fact. That's why I'm not gonna call
you. I cannot call you a brother while you're still in that state.
But if God ever brings you out of that, I'll call you brother
or sister with full arms and open heart. You hear what I'm
saying? God ever brings you out of that,
while you're in that, I can't call you brothers. Who was running
around saying, well, old brother Saul. They were running from
him, hiding from him, and rightfully so, you and I would have to.
He had papers of authority. Could lock you up in prison,
possibly even have you killed. And even some of the churches,
after news began to spread of his conversion, were a little
weary about this man. And you would have been, too.
And I would have been, too. But once they'd realized that
God Almighty had laid hold of that proud rebel, Mason, what
did they do? They received him with open arms.
Amen. Had you known me 40 years ago,
I would have been the worst enemy of everything you loved right
now today. because I was. And God broke
this proud rebel. Why? Because he knew me before
I ever knew him. He didn't know me because I would
know him. I know him because he first knew me. And that applies.
We love him because, because, because he first loved us. It does not say we love him,
but he first loved us. That's the way that's often preached
today. But that's not what it says. If God ever loved you,
you will come to love him. Because we love him because he
first loved us. But he also told Jeremiah these
words. He said, before I formed thee
in the belly, I knew thee. Jeremiah of every glad about
that, he was. And you better be glad about
that, and you will be, if God ever tells you, before I formed
thee in the belly, I knew you. But he said more than that, didn't
he, to Jeremiah? He said, and before thou camest forth out
of the womb, I set you apart. Amen. You see that? I sanctified
you. Isn't it amazing how we, in so-called
modern-day Christianity today, will take the very words of scripture
and give them our own meanings? Yeah, you're right. totally giving
total carelessness to thus saith the Lord concerning Israel for
those words. Most people when they think about sanctification,
they talk about becoming on fire for Jesus Christian. Now don't
they? They think that's what real sanctification
is. I'm on fire for the Lord. Bless
God now I'm sanctified. Well let me tell you something.
There will be a lot of people will be on fire, on fire, not
far, on fire, Sorry, that's my mountain dialect. It will be
on fire by the Lord. Under His wrath and His judgment. But now let me tell you something.
If you're ever sanctified in time, it's because God sanctified
you even before you come out of that womb. That's just the
way it is. But here's the way the scripture
talks about. God sanctified us even before our birth. Even we
as good Calvinists, you know, people call us sometimes good
Calvinists, we zero in on one area of sanctification. When
sanctification began before the world was. It began before the
world was. This sanctification precedes
even our calling. And the question is, does the
Bible say that? Isn't that the question? It ain't my theological
take, does the Bible say that? Turn to Jude. Jude says it. Turn to Jude, you know what chapter
in Jude? The only one they air. It's not even called chapter
one, it's just Jude. Why didn't they put it in at
least two so we could say Jude chapter one? I'm being silly. Look, Jude, the servant of Jesus
Christ and brother of James. This Jude was also the brother
of our Lord too. The brother of our Lord, physically
and spiritually. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ.
But notice, what does he say? He doesn't say, I'm his brother.
Y'all look at me, I'm the brother of Jesus. Is that what he says? No, do you see the humility here?
Do you see, here's another proud rebel brought down. How do I
know that? The book says so. Even his brothers didn't believe
in him at one time. All of a sudden now, Mason, he's
writing a short letter here to God's people. Isn't that amazing?
Jude, the servant. Yes, he was his brother. But
he was his, Christ was his master first. His Lord first. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ
and brother of James. Notice he didn't say the brother
of Jesus Christ and James. I don't want to keep on. To them
that are sanctified by God the Father, well that happened when
I come forward. I mean what it says, look at it. Sanctified
by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Now do not dare try to twist
that around and put it in the order you want to put it in.
It's that this man was being moved by the Spirit of God to
write it down exactly as God had ordained it. The exact proper
order. Now as far as God was concerned,
Joe, whenever He sanctified me, He'd already called me. as far
as his purpose was concerned. But God breaks it down so that
we don't misunderstand who he is. That's why he puts this order
here, not that he came up with it. Well, I say to him, well,
now be nice to preserve them. And you know what? Having preserved
them, then one day I'll call them by my grace. That's not
the way God operates. but God breaks it down for our
purposes so that we'll know exactly who God is and we don't get this
thing wrong. Turn God into something he's not. Somebody says men wouldn't
do that. We've done it since the beginning.
We've done it since the beginning. Look, sanctified by God the Father,
preserved in Jesus Christ, then he called us. Do you see it? Then he called us. Now bless
God, you will never be called unless God Almighty's already
sanctified you. And this, and I'm gonna term
it this way, I understand it will probably tick some people
off, but go ahead and be ticked off. This eternal sanctification,
and I'm gonna call it that. Why? Because God's eternal. Everything
God's ever done in time is because God purposed it eternally. God's
not coming up with the way he's doing things. He purposed the
way he'd do things before the world ever was. Mason meant nothing
but he existed before the angels even existed. This sanctification
precedes our calling, and this eternal sanctification will be
followed by spirit-wrought sanctification and gospel calling. You can look
that up in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 13 and 14. You see, if
God the Father set his sanctifying love on you in Christ before
the world began, he will send his spirit to you in time and
set you apart for a work of gospel calling. And that's what it's
for. Most people love to be sanctified,
but they don't want the goal that's in mind concerning sanctification.
And that's what? Being called by the gospel unto
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in the truth about him.
Most people today don't mind to believe as long as they can
believe what they want to believe. Now, isn't that a fact? That's not me, I'm not. That's
just the way it is. That's just the way it is. To
set apart. To be made holy. That's right. Somebody says you ain't holy.
No, in me I'm not. In myself I am unholy, ungodly. In my old
nature, I'm unredeemable. Because God didn't even redeem
my old nature, he just went to put that away. He gave me a new
nature, and then he's gonna have to transform this body and make
it like into his. Right? So Mason, that lets me
know he didn't redeem that. Right? He didn't redeem that.
To set apart, to be made holy. Those vessels in that tabernacle,
they were holy. Not because the gold in that
tabernacle, Joe, was better than any other gold. Not because the
brass was different than any other brass. Not because the
oil was different than any other oil. They baked those 12 loaves
just like you bake every other kind of bread, other than it
was done according to divine design. And it was set apart
for that purpose, and it's called the holy vessels. Their holiness
wasn't in themselves, their holiness was in God. Holiness, that's
right, we're called saints. Right there, Saint Seth, Saint
Emily, and we're on down the line to everyone that believes
here. I'm not trying to leave anybody out. Saints, but you're
not gonna see that by looking at us. Where's the only place they were
allowed to see those holy articles, those holy items? Mason, when
it was set up in that tabernacle, and not everybody got to see
that. When they took that thing down, they covered all this stuff
up. They didn't march around with that candlestick out on
a pole. It was covered up with badger skin. wrapped up, sewed
up, hidden in Christ Jesus when it was displayed before the world
and they was marching along. Was it not? And that's where
your holiness is, is in Christ Jesus. That's where your sanctification
is, is in Christ Jesus. He is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. To be set apart, to be made holy,
to be declared as distinct, Distinct. You didn't take just any old
article out there and say, well, I'm gonna bring that into the
tabernacle and we'll worship God with that. Remember two young
fellows tried to do that just with some coals. You remember
that? Just with the wrong kind of fire,
some hot coals. They didn't take it off that
altar out in the front. I don't know where they brought
it from, Mason, but they didn't get it where they supposed to get
it. and go in there to light that incense. How do you do it?
Those hot coals, they got it somewhere else and they brought
it into that tabernacle. You know what God did? God killed
them dead. They fell down dead where they were. Why? Because God is concerned about
where some hot coals come from. No, because it pictures His Son. You do not distort His Son. You do not misuse His Son. You do not misrepresent His Son. Either tell the truth about Jesus
Christ or just shut up. If you don't like it, just admit
you don't like it. But just shut up. Quit trying
to make Him something He's not. Don't bring strange fire from
a strange altar into God's holy place. Think about it. We are declared to be distinct
by God for God. And that's the only one that
matters. Why do I care if the world thinks I'm holy or not?
Now I'm not saying I don't care about my conduct in front of
the world, that's not what I'm saying. But I don't care how
good you live. If you tell them the truth about
Jesus Christ, they gonna say you're the miserablest, ugliest,
most heinous wretch that ever walked. I don't care how moral
of a person you are. You could hand them a $100 bill
and then tell them Jesus Christ is in sovereign control of all
men's destinies and he has it in their hands and they'll take
your $100 and despise everything you are. And that's just the
way it is. God made me distinct by himself
for himself. And God made me distinct. This
distinction is by God as opposed to others. And that's just the
way it is. God's the one who determines the vessels he's going
to live with. He determines the people who's
going to be in eternity with him. That's his right. That's
his right. We're all fallen sons and daughters
of Adam. None of us has the right to be
in glory with God. It's like Tim James once said,
people talk about mercy and they turn around and say, I'm going
to let God be merciful to me. That's blasphemous. Do you know
that? That's blasphemous. Joe, if I
offended you, it would be an insult, not just in the deed
I've done wrong to you, but then if I insulted you and offended
you, then I come up to you and say, I'm gonna let you be merciful
to me. That's adding insult to injury. That's kicking a man
after he's down and then spitting between his eyes while you got
him down there. No, mercy has to come sovereignly
or it's not mercy. It's merit. Right? You see, Joe,
I'm such a transformed person. You've got to show mercy to me.
It don't work that way. You remember that sinner up there
at the temple? He wouldn't even lift his eyes up to heaven, smote
on his breast and said, God, be merciful. And you know what
that word is? Propitiate. Why? Because I'm the offending
party. God has not offended us in any
way, shape or form. Look at what he's given all humanity
to enjoy. Isn't this glorious? I don't
care whether you like the mountains or whether you like the flat
land. I don't care whether you like living up in the woods or
whether you like living near the ocean. God lets us enjoy
his world. And we spit in his face every
day. But thank God he still knew some
of us. Thank God he sanctified us. But
Joe, he didn't just leave us out there to wander around. He
said to Jeremiah, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Third point, ordained a prophet?
Not all of us. Paul's clear, go back and look
at it sometime. First Corinthians 12, 28 and 29. He says, are all
prophets? Well, it's rhetorical. No, of
course not. But he says, we all, all of God's people, we all have
our place in the body as members in particular. No, we're not
all prophets. We're not all apostles. We're
not all pastor teachers, but we all have our specific place
in the body. And God put it there. One, is
it pleased him? And two, because his wisdom in
his purpose knows the best place for you to be. Because he will
equip you, just like he did Jeremiah, for the place you hold in the
body. Some of you may never speak a word as far as publicly doing
something like this. Why? Because that's not where
God put you. But wherever he put you, it's vital. Did he say? The hand don't say the foot,
I don't need you. Only idiots talk like that, right? Oh, God
help me though. What an idiot I have been at
times. Look at another man or woman's
place in the body and then wish that was me. Or say at least,
why not me? Why? Because God said so. That
ought to be enough, right? If the lover of my soul, the
one who loved me and gave himself for me says, here's the place
I want you. You know what true devotion to
Jesus Christ says? Oh, thank you God for that place. I'm happy to be here even if
I want a doorkeeper at the house of God. And I don't know exactly
what all David meant, I really don't. But Joe, if it's just
opening up a door and shaking a hand. If it's just saying I
love you brother, I love you sister. You know, whatever it
is, if it's just sitting in those chairs, showing your devotion
and union and fidelity to Jesus Christ, that's enough. We don't
deserve the right to do that, do we? Oh, what a joy it is. So let me sum it up. Comfort,
if this don't comfort, I'm talking about my message. If this truth
don't comfort you, comfort you, you can't be comforted. Oh, I
could tone it down. I could maybe twist it around.
And boy, you might feel some comfort, but it'd be fleshly
comfort. If you're not comforted by the truth, whatever comfort
you get from anything else will do your soul no good. As a matter
of fact, it may even add to your condemnation. But comfort, this
is. Peace, when God opens your eyes
to see, people say, well, how can you believe something like
that? But once you do, once God Almighty bows you down to it,
you see what peace it gives. What stability. What stability. Joe, I know that if I am truly
His, He knew me before He even formed me in the belly. And he
set me apart even before I come out of my mommy's womb. And he
ordained me a specific place in the body of his son over which
he's called the head. And Jesus Christ, even in eternity,
was not a bodiless head. He had a body even then by sovereign
decree and design. And each and every one of us
already had our place in God's purpose even then. Oh, you talk
about stability, but we constantly see, think of comfort, peace,
stability, getting greater and greater and greater, isn't it?
Oh, but here's my last one, humility. Now we've reached to that. Think
of comfort, peace, stability, humility. Let me tell you something. Some of the most proud people
in this world are people who believe in free will. They may be some of the most
moral, decent people to live beside as far as not stealing
from you and all that, but they'll rob God of his glory. So they
wouldn't take a dime from work wrongly. Now think about that.
You talk about corruption. To honor men by not stealing
from them or whatever, but rather than turn around and try to rob
God of his glory? Huh? You see, when God Almighty
shows you that you have a part in this with Jeremiah, in Christ
Jesus, it will humble you like nothing else in this world. And
you're still gonna see your pride. As a matter of fact, when God
gives you this kind of humility, you'll see your pride more then
than any other time. You'll see your pride for what
it really is. It is amazing to me, and I end with this. You
know, it takes the new man to even acknowledge the sins of
the old man. Think about that. The old man never, oh, it might
acknowledge a couple wrongs, and oh, there might be a little
judgment, but I'll just do better. I'll just do better. But the old man
can never say, oh, I am despicable. It's the new man that says about
the old man, I'm despicable, and hateful, and ungodly, and
unrighteous. That lets me know this has gotta
be a work of God or it ain't gonna get done. Who done the
forming? God did. In the belly, God does
that for everybody, but he didn't know everybody. He didn't sanctify
everybody before they come out of the womb, and he certainly
didn't ordain everybody a place in his son's body. Oh, what a
privilege it is to be a part of that. The end, right? The end. Father, teach our hearts
and minds these things. We thank you for the comfort,
the peace, and the stability, but oh, oh God, Teach us to be
humble. Help us to humble ourselves under
your mighty hand. And Lord, to give you all the
praise and the honor and the glory in your son, who is in
his name we pray. Amen.