Open your Bibles, if you would,
to 1 Peter, chapter 5. 1 Peter, chapter 5. I had Brother Tim read that psalm,
because we saw at first there, we know David's been going through
some things, and every believer goes through things in this life,
and sometimes we wonder, Lord, what's going on? Honestly, we do sometimes, don't
we? We're honest with each other. He's in control. He's in control. He's not abdicated his throne. He's in full control. And that's part of our just trusting.
See, David said, I cried unto God with my voice, even unto
God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. In the day of trouble,
I sought the Lord. My soul ran in the night and
ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted.
But then he remembers God, doesn't he? He remembers who God is.
He remembers that he's the God of all of the universe. But he asks the question, had
God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his
tender mercy? Selah. No, he remembers what
God has done for him. Look at here in 1 Peter 5. Now
Paul's writing to believers here. And we know that from, if you
turn over to chapter one, we know that this epistle is addressed
to the various churches or Christians scattered abroad through Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. It says, Peter, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia. But look at who
he's writing to. He's not writing to everyone. He's writing to the elect. elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied." So this is an epistle to God's people. Hawker said a lot of things could
be straightened out if we realize that scriptures are written to
his people. Now, God's people have been going
through some things, and we all do. We all do through this world
of woe. We go through different things.
Look here in 1 Peter 5, verses 6 to 11, and our text will be
found in verse 10. And the name of the message is
a glorious calling. It says, Humble yourselves, therefore,
unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time. Now, again, we go through things all the time, don't we?
Struggles. Conflicts. But look what verse
7 says. Casting all your care upon Him. Casting all your care upon Christ. No one else. If we come to each
other, and we ask each other to pray, right? But He's the
only one who can help us through the situations in life that we
go through, beloved. Casting all your care on Him. On him. And the believer experiences
this as we grow in grace and as we travel through this world
of woe and the various experiences that we go through, we are taught
to continuously cast our cares upon him. Why? Because he careth for you. God cares for you, beloved. for his people? Be sober, be
vigilant. Well, we have an adversary, don't
we? We have three enemies, actually. The world, the flesh, and the
devil. And usually the worst one is
the flesh for us. It's our own flesh. Spurgeon
said we're our own worst enemy. Be sober, be diligent, because
your adversary the devil is a roaring lion walking about seeking whom
he may devour. Whom resists steadfast in the
faith? We resist him in Christ. Knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in you and your brethren that are in the world.
Realize this, beloved, that what you go through is not just what
you're going through. You're not alone. What I struggle
with, you struggle with. Now you may be strong in a certain
place where I'm weak. Or I may be strong in a place
where you're weak. But if we got together and we
sat down, we talked about what we struggle with, we would be
amazed that we all struggle with the same things. And that's what
the scripture says right here, doesn't it? That's what it says. knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Here's our verse. But the God
of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while,
just a little while, our life's lack of vapor, Make you perfect,
establish strength and settle you. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. So we know from our looking
at those first verses that this epistle is addressed to the various
churches or to the Christians scattered abroad, to the elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit and to obedience in the sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ. That's who this epistle is written to. So this
text that we read here, but the God of all grace who has called
us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, that you have suffered
a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen you, settle you, strengthen,
settle you. It's written to God's people. So very clearly we see that the
chosen of God, in verse two of chapter one, we see very clearly
that the chosen of God are elect. chosen according to the foreknowledge
of God. Through the sanctification of
the Spirit, they're born again. No one can be saved without being
born again. Through the sanctification of
the Spirit and obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ, it's his precious blood that was shed for all my sins
and for yours if you're a believer. So we see here in our text today,
which is found in 1 Peter 5.10, we have some beautiful statements
here. Beautiful statements of gospel truth and Christian doctrine
here, but also a fervent and benevolent prayer of the soul
of Peter for the happiness and well-being of his brethren. But
the God of all grace who hath called us to his eternal glory
by Christ Jesus After that you have suffered while, make you
perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. Now the apostle Peter
has written this, but Paul gives us some very striking instances
of the same benevolence and the same fervency for the brethren
as Peter. Turn, if you would, to Romans
15. Romans 15. and some of His prayers for the
brethren and for those who have been redeemed by Christ. He prays for unity of the believers
in Rome. In Romans 15, verse 5, Paul does. Look at this. Romans 15, verse
5, Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded
one toward another, according to Christ Jesus. He's praying
for for unity. Look at verse 13, a little further
down. He prays that they would have joy and peace. And that
they would abound in hope, how through the power of the Holy
Ghost, look at verse 13, Romans 15, 13. Now, the God of hope,
oh, our God, he's a God of hope, beloved. Now, the God of hope
fill you with all joy. And peace. In believing that she may abound
in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. And then turn,
if you would, to Ephesians 1. Paul gives thanks for and prayed
that the eyes of the understanding of the Ephesian believers would
be opened, that the Holy Spirit would illuminate the scriptures
for them, that they would be taught of God, the things of
Christ, and that they would know the
hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints. Look at Ephesians 1.15-19. Wherefore, I also, after I heard
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints,
cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the
hope of his call, that ye be given seeing eyes, that you might
know the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us who believe according to the working of his
mighty power. What love the apostle Paul had for his fellow believers.
And we see Peter has the same love for the brethren in our
text, beloved, when he says, but the God of all grace, who
had called us into his eternal glory by Christ, after that you
have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish strength in
several years. They have a love for God's people. They pray for
one another. Now, it's easy to tear people
down, isn't it? But they don't do that. It's
easy to see people's sins. But they don't do that. They
lift them up. They pray for the brethren. We're called to love one another.
We're called to lift one another up in prayer because our hearts
are knit together in Christ. And look at our text again. But
the God of all grace, who hath called us to his eternal glory
by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you
perfect, establish strength, and settle you. Now notice here. The Apostle Peter gives us another
example manifested in his words to believers. of some wonderful
doctrinal truths right here contained in this verse. Look at this here
before us. We have the author of the Christian
calling, the author of the Christian. Who's the author of the Christian
calling? It's God. And here he's called the God
of all grace. He's the author of our calling,
but the God of all grace who has called us. He's the author. He's the first and the last.
He's the author of creation. He's the author of providence.
He's the author of all grace. And all things are of Him and
by Him and through Him. So the author of the call in
our text is the God of all grace. It is He who has called us to
eternal life. Think of that. The God of all
grace has called us. He didn't leave us where we were.
Do you know that in religion, man
is the author of their salvation? Do you know that? I was pondering
that this week. And you might ask, well, how's
that so? Think of this. Think of this. It's promoted
in workspace churches and by false preachers that God has
done everything he can. Is that not what they say? I've
heard it many times. I still hear it. God's done everything
he can. Now the rest is up to you. See,
they cannot be saved unless they do something. They can't be saved
unless they do something. Therefore, man becomes the author. In false-based, works-based religion,
man becomes the author of their salvation. That means it's false. It's a false gospel. And it's
promoted so much. It's promoted so much. It's not
so. It's just a lie. It's a lie which
will damn their soul. Because those who believe this
false gospel, again, believe they are the ones who had to
initiate it. And we know that the scripture
declares, turn if you would to Hebrews 12, the scriptures plainly
declares who is the author. And we know what an author is.
He's the one who writes it all, right? He's the one who does
it all. When a man authors a book, he's
the one who wrote it. He's the one who planned out
the character. And if his name is on that book,
we know he's the finisher too, right? He wrote it, and he finished
it. Okay? Look at Hebrews 12, verses
1 and 2. Wherefore, seeing we are also
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, that's
God's people, that's his church, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Oh, it so easily besets
us, sin does. And let us run with patience
the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the what?
The author, the beginning, he begins it all. And we see that
in our text, it's the God of all grace, beloved, who hath
called us. The author and what? And the finisher of our faith.
That means salvation's all of God. You can't get away from
it. And God's people, we rejoice
in this. We rejoice in this. He's the
author and the finisher of our faith. Who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. It's finished.
He's the author and he's the finisher. He's Jesus our Savior
who was appointed and sent by the Father to be our Redeemer,
our Representative, our Ransom, and our Mediator. He's the author
of our faith. It's not in us to believe, is
it? No. None of us would believe unless
God draws us. But by His grace and His Holy
Spirit, we're led, we're born again, and He leads us right
to Christ. Right to Christ. And we believe
in Him. We believe in Him. He's the object
of our faith. He's the finisher of our faith.
And He's the one who will bring it to maturity. It's all Him. He's the one who
grows us. He's the one who teaches us.
And our eternal souls are safe in Him. In this This statement is true. If Christ
is not the author and finisher of your salvation, then you're
not saved. Plain and simple. If your salvation
includes anything that you do, you're not saved. God's people rest 100% in Christ. He's everything to us. Our salvation
is completely in Him. If the personal pronoun I is
part of your salvation, such as I prayed a prayer, or I chose Jesus, or I made a
decision for Christ, you're lost. Because what are you depending
upon for your salvation? I, something you did. Be it a decision or a prayer
or a walk in an aisle. It's all been initiated by your
works. But God's people. Let me tell
you a little story first though. I heard somebody this week say,
they were talking about this child evangelism that's so big
out there. And this person proclaimed, I
led my child to the Lord. And I said to them, you can't
lead yourself to the Lord, let alone anyone else. And neither
can I. Neither can I. I told him, you can't save yourself,
let alone anyone else. God, the Holy Spirit must must
regenerate us. We must be drawn to Christ and
he draws the sinner to Christ. He shows us our desperate need,
beloved. He shows us our desperate state
before the holy and righteous God of the universe, and then
he shows us our desperate need for Christ. This is what God's people proclaim.
And tell me if it's not so. The Lord saved me. The Lord saved me. He did it all. The Lord redeemed
me. The Lord is my salvation. The Lord is my strength. He did
it all. He purchased me from the slave
block of sin. And I was a slave to sin with
no hope, chained up and bound. And he purchased me with his
own precious blood. And the chains fell away. And
now I'm free in Christ. I'm still a sinner, but oh, I'm
free in Christ, beloved. Is it so with you? Has the Lord
saved you? That's what God's people proclaim.
The Lord did this. And it's wonderful, and it's
marvelous. And we praise His mighty name
for it. We confess that it is the God
of all grace, as our text says. That it's the God of all grace.
who called us. It's the God of all grace who
saved us. It's the God of all grace who
keeps us. And how does He keep us in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ? And our God is called the God
of all grace, beloved. All grace. Grace signifies blessing
and favor that is undeserved. Blessing and favor that is undeserved. He alone is the only fountain
of blessing and happiness for the believer. It's all in and
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace of every kind and degree
is from Him. And in Him, through Christ alone,
redemption originated with God, the God of all grace, and it
was accomplished by Christ Jesus our Lord. He is the God of all
grace. It's the grace of God which restrains
us too. Think of this. Do you restrain
yourself? The Holy Spirit restrains you.
The God of all grace restrains you from sin. We're sinners by birth, nature,
and choice. Even after we're saved, we're
still sinners. We struggle and fight and battle all the time.
But it's Christ working in us. The God of all grace is the one
who converts the soul. He gives us the Holy Spirit who
regenerates us. Think of this, He is the God
of all grace and let us remember that God's grace is adopting
grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone. God's
grace is sanctifying grace in and through Christ alone. God's
grace is pardoning grace and justifying grace. Again, where
is it? In and through Christ in Him
alone. And God's grace is comforting grace. Has not the believer tried
that? Is it not comforting grace to
you? That God has forgiven you for all your sins. That comforts me. Mine. All of them. It's comforting
grace. And who is it that gives us this
grace? The God of all grace. The God of all grace. We are
pardoned in Christ because the God of all grace chose to pardon
us. We are sanctified in Christ because
the God of all grace chose to sanctify us in Christ. Let us
ponder who the God of all grace is. He's the all-gracious God. His
name is the Lord God and He is merciful and gracious, long-suffering
and abundant in goodness and truth. He's the one true God. The one true God. And He has shown mercy to a number
that no man can number. And if you're saved, praise God
that you're one of that number. Because by your nature and by
your choice, we never would have been. But by His choosing. But the God of all grace who
had called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus. He is perfect in holiness, beloved.
He delights in mercy. He is Jehovah who changes not. He's the same yesterday, today
and forever. He's called the God of all comfort.
What a comfort He is to His people. His reign is supreme. And of
His kingdom there's no end. This is the God of all grace.
This is the One who's called us. And it's in and by and through
the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. He's the fountain and
the source of all grace, beloved. But the God of all grace. And it's given to his people.
And it proceeds from him. Let's look at our next point.
who hath called us to his eternal glory, but the God of all grace
who hath called us to his eternal glory. The one who has called
us is the God of all grace, and he must call. He must call, or
no one will come to him. That's humbling. That's humbling. Think of that personally. If
he hadn't called me, if he hadn't called you who believe, we never
would have come. That's a humble and doctrine.
That's why that's why folks don't like the preaching of the gospel
of the grace of God in Christ, because it humbles people. It
brings us low. But it exalts our king, doesn't
it? It exalts our king. He must call or no one will come
to him. And let us also remember who this letter's written to.
It's written to believers. It's written to the ones who
are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, Father. And that's not
God looking down through time and saw who'd choose him, because
that's just works-based religion. No, that's God looking down through
time and seeing us all as sinners, dead in trespasses and sins,
and shaking our fists at Him, and Him in His mercy and grace
choosing us. My goodness gracious. What a great God. And think of
this, too, it says, but the God of all grace who have called
us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, this call is not 80 percent
God and 20 percent man. Right, it's not that, is it?
It's not 90 percent God and 10 percent man. Beloved, this is
100 percent God. And this call from God is effectual. That's why the preacher can get
up and preach with confidence in Christ in him alone, knowing
that that his word will not return unto him void, that God will
set it out to accomplish what he set it out to accomplish.
And it will accomplish that. It will, whatever it is, whether
it be hardened someone or whether it be the same someone. In this call here, though. This
is not the general call either that goes out. This call spoken
of here, but the God of all grace who had called us to his eternal
glory. This is an effectual call, an effectual call, beloved. It's an internal effectual call,
it's a special call of the Holy Spirit of God, and it is always
efficacious. It always sets out and accomplishes. It's invincible. You can't stop
it. If man can say they can stop
the invincible call of God, they don't have a clue who God is,
whether they profess to know Him or not. This is an invincible
call. It's an effectual call. And it
comes to God's sheep. The persons who are the subjects
of this call are God's elect, who were chosen in Christ in
eternity. and who are preserved in Him
and redeemed by Him, a select people, a chosen people, distinguished from others in
the world, yet no better in themselves from anyone else. And oftentimes they're the vilest,
meanest, most disgraceful and shameful of men. But they're chosen vessels of
God. And if you're a believer, you're
a chosen vessel of God, not based upon anything in you, but simply
because of his mercy and his grace, which comes from the God
of all grace. God the Father has prepared and
provided for His people, the people of His own choosing, the
people whom He freely gave to Christ by His grace, He has prepared
and provided salvation in and through Christ alone. And it
is He, Christ, in whom we are qualified for heaven, made fit
for heaven, And again, it's all according to God's grace which
has been bestowed upon us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we know from Scripture that whom He did predestinate, them
He called. Whom He called, them He also
justified. Whom He justified, them He also glorifies. And it's all by His free and
sovereign grace, beloved. Because He's the God of all grace.
And He is the sole cause of us being called. Remember that. He is the sole cause of you being
called. He's the sole cause of you being
saved. If you're redeemed, if you're
saved, if you're trusting Christ, He is the sole cause of it. That's humbling. That's humbling. We are taught elsewhere in Scripture
by the Holy Ghost that we are saved and called with the Holy
Column, not according to our works. For where grace is the
sole cause, it cannot be of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. And again, this is all according
to God's own purpose and grace. Turn, if you would, to Revelation
chapter 19. This is all according to God's own purpose and grace,
which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
We are eternally called to promote the glory of God, we who believe.
To promote God's glory here on earth. To give Him all the glory
and honor and praise. And that's what we'll be doing
in glory. We'll be giving Him all the glory
and all the honor and all the praise. Look in Revelation 19
verses 1 to 6. And after these things I heard
a great voice of much people in heaven, there's the redeemed,
all the redeemed of the Lord, saying, Alleluia, salvation and
glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. It all goes
to Him. For true and righteous are His
judgments. For He hath judged the great oar which did corrupt
the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of
His servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia.
Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever
and ever. and the four and twenty elders, and the four beasts fell
down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen,
Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne,
saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear
him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the
voice of the great multitude, and it is the voice of many waters,
and the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. He reigns. He reigns, beloved. He reigns. He reigns. Let's go back to our text in
1 Peter 5.10. And one commentator wrote this.
May the Christian warrior draw from this verse, verse 10 of
1 Peter 5.10. May the Christian warrior draw
from this verse the most precious water when fatigued with the
conflicts, whether it be the world, the flesh and the devil.
And may this verse be a drink of refreshment to a weary pilgrim. And may we look to the captain
of our salvation, by whom God's people are called. 1 Peter 5, 10. But the God of all
grace, who hath called us to his eternal glory, by Christ
Jesus, by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while,
make you perfect, establish strength, and settle you. What great comfort
the believer can find here. What great joy the believer finds
in Christ is our salvation. It's the God of all grace who
has called us. And who are we called in? Christ. By Christ. In Christ. Vine comments, Vine
who the Greek expositor, comments on this, denoting the sphere
or element in which the calling and its results take place. By
Christ. In Christ. In Christ. for the believer, Christ is our
life, He's our head, He's our all in all. The called, the called. But the God of all grace who
hath called us, this is what distinguishes us from others.
Christ in Him alone is the one who's called us. We're called
in Christ. This is what distinguishes us
from others. We're called in Him, in Christ. all according to God's purpose
and grace. We are called to obtain the promise,
eternal inheritance by the God of all grace, how? In and through
Christ in Him alone. And this calling is not according
to our works, but is according to Christ's work as our substitute,
what He's done in His life and in His death, and all again according
to God's divine purpose and decree. and the grace which was given
to us in Christ Jesus was given to us before the world began.
His law has been set upon us from eternity. Now were it not for His sovereign
kindness and mercy and grace of God which has been given to
us and shown to us in Christ, then none of us would be saved. But praise be to God, He has
decreed and ordained that His people, His elect, whom He calls
with an effectual, irresistible calling, an invincible calling
by the Holy Spirit of God, they are called the Christ Jesus,
our Savior. If He didn't call us, there'd
be none coming. They will be born again. They
will be saved, just as God has ordained. Turn, if you would,
to Acts 13, 47. Acts 1347 to 49. If God has ordained the salvation
of someone, they will be safe. There's no there's no doubt.
Acts 13. Now, we don't know who the elect
are, so we preach the gospel to all. But God does the saving,
doesn't he? Acts 13, verses 47 to 49. For
so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be
a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believe." When were they
ordained to eternal life? Just then? I had somebody tell
me that this week. Oh my gosh. I had somebody tell
me that too. Well, when you believe, you become
one of the elect. No. That's a lie. And we went to
Ephesians 1-4, chosen in Him before the foundation of the
world. These Gentiles who believe were ordained before the foundation
of the world to believe. And they believed. That gives
us hope, eh? The gospel going forth? Out it
goes. And as many as were ordained
to eternal life, they will believe. They will believe. And let's
bring that to a personal level. If you're saved, you were ordained
to eternal life. My goodness. That just That lays
us low, beloved, because we know that there's no difference with
us and anyone else except for the grace of God in Christ. And then what happened? And the
word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. They
just went proclaiming Christ. Proclaiming, telling people the
great things that God had done for them. And this was true during
the writing of the book of Acts, and it's true today that as many
as were ordained to eternal life will believe. because our God,
the God of all grace, is an unchanging God. He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever, isn't he? You see? You see how scripture
ties in with each other? He doesn't change. How are the
Old Testament saints saved? By faith, looking to Christ,
looking to the Messiah. How are we saved? By looking
to Christ. One faith, we look to the Son,
one Lord, one faith. So men are called by the Father
to the Son, and it is in Christ that we are called out of the
darkness into His marvelous light. It is in Christ that all our
sins are forgiven. It is in Christ that we are justified before
God. And it is in Christ that we are called to this glorious
liberty which we have. Free from the condemnation of
sin. Free from the condemnation of sin. Free from the guilt of
sin. And one day, free from the presence
of sin, when we're in his presence. And what a glorious day that
will be for the believer. What a glorious day. Our faith
shall become sight. Sight. My goodness. And let us note we are called
in Christ. Calvin comments this, our calling
is established because it is rightly founded. Our calling
is established because it's rightly founded. But the God of all grace
who had called us unto his glory by Christ Jesus. Vine says in
Christ, but by it's in Christ, isn't it? It's by Christ. We
have the proper foundation, Christ, Christ in him alone. I like what
Calvin said there. Our calling is established because
it is rightly founded, rightly found. So this calling is based
upon no merit in us, none, no merit in us, and it's all in
Christ. And Peter brings this forth,
this wonderful doctrine of salvation in Christ alone. God is faithful. Scripture declares this. God
is faithful by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1.9. God is faithful. We are redeemed by the shedding
of the precious blood of Christ. His blood. He hath redeemed us.
He hath redeemed us to God. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
5. By His blood, He alone has attained eternal redemption for
us. And eternal life is only found in Christ. Look at John
chapter 5, verses 24 to 27. Remember, He's the author, right? And He's the finisher. He's the
author and salvations of the Lord. The Lord has saved me. He's the
one. John 5, verses 24-27, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that hath sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death into life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is come, and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and
they that hear shall live. The dead will hear the voice
of the Son of God. When God called us, we were dead. And we heard the voice of the
Shepherd. The voice of the Shepherd, the
dead. The dead spiritually shall hear the voice of the Son of
God and they shall live. Now we know that in the resurrection
they will too, right? For the Father hath life in Himself,
so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. My goodness,
have you heard? Has God called you from death
to life? Oh, I pray that He would. And verse 27 says, And hath given
Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of
Man. Now tie that in. When it says, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live. Tie that in with, My sheep will hear My voice, and they
fall not. They follow me. Lazarus, come forth. Did Lazarus say, wait, I gotta
exercise my free will. I can't come out of here yet.
No, he come out, didn't he? Clothed in his grave clothes,
he comes out. And the Lord tells us, go and
take the grave clothes off. That's the preaching of the gospel.
Grave clothes start to fall off. My goodness, the grave clothes
of works. Grave clothes of religion just
start to fall off the believer. My goodness, beloved. My sheep
hear my voice and they follow me. They hear the voice of Christ
in preaching the gospel as God the Holy Spirit gives them hearing
ears and seeing eyes to look to Christ who is the one object
of our faith. Now in closing our text, we know
that salvation is all the work of God. all the work of God. And note who gets the glory in
verse 11. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Turn if you would over to Philippians
chapter 1 verse 6. He gets all the glory. Why? Because it is He who has begun
a good work in us. And here, perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1, 6. Being confident of this very
thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ. See, there's no confidence in
ourselves at all, is there? It's all in Christ. It's all
in Christ. He's the God of all grace. He's
the one who called us unto His eternal glory by and in and through
Christ Jesus our Lord. And that you have suffered a
while, make you perfect, establish strength in you, settle you.
One day we'll be in glory with no more pain, no more sorrow,
no more struggle. So we saw today who was the author
and finisher of our faith. It's the God of all glory. The
God of all grace. And we consider that we are called
by the God of all grace. It's His work and His alone.
It's all Him. If you're saved, give Him all
the glory. Give Him all the honor. And lastly, we consider that
we're called in Christ Jesus and Him alone. This verse in 1 Peter 5.10, it
screams, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
98. We'll close with these words. May God's people leave this place
today praising the mighty name of Jesus, because as Psalm 98,
verses 2 and 4 proclaims, the Lord hath made known His
salvation. Has He made it known to you? His righteousness hath He openly
showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered His mercy
and His truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the
earth shall see the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all the earth. Make a loud noise and rejoice
and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the voice of the psalm, with the trumpets
and sounds of the cornet, Make a joyful noise before the Lord,
the King. Salvation is of the Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before
Thee humbled by the fact that You, who are the God of all grace,
You called sinners such as we, and that your love was set upon
us from eternity. May we leave here rejoicing that
you who are the God of all grace have called us. You didn't leave
us where we were. You called us and it's only in
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I know we're gonna be eternally
grateful because we see the saints in glory, singing hallelujah
to you. Praise in your mighty name. While we're here on earth,
may we ascribe all the glory and honor and praise to thee.
And we love you because you first loved us. In Jesus' name we pray,
amen.