you. ? ? so so so so ? ? welcome you to the service this
morning. We're going to sing that song she was just playing.
You think you can remember that tune? Okay, 408. Blessed assurance. Let's stand
as we sing. ? Oh, don't, Jesus is mine ? ?
Oh, all of your days of glory divine ? ? We're a town, a nation, purchase of God ? ? All of His spirit washed
in His blood ? ? This is my story ? This is my song. The bridge of vision will bring
me light, And the water now pours from my sight. Angels descending, kingdom of
love Echoes of mercy, whispers of love This is my story, this
is my song Praising thy Savior all the day long This is my story, this is my
song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, love Him
at rest, I am my Savior, and happy and blest, Watching and
waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His
love. This is my story, this is my
song, I think you may be seated. If we take our bulletin He has saved us and called us,
and has sung to the tune of According to Thy Gracious Word. A child who lives and cries,
a child reborn, a child who lives and cries, Lord, He that saved us is anew,
as all the world has done. And as He birthed us by His grace,
He calls us friends. Good morning. We welcome each
and every one of you into the service this morning and I rejoice
that the Lord has shown mercy, graced us again this side of
eternity in allowing us to gather together and to worship. He is worthy of worship, worthy
of is the lamb that was slain. We want to pray this morning
for Betty Rivenbark. She was taken sick last night
and Wanda had to take her to the
ER this morning, so we want to be sure and remember her and
pray for her. Please continue to pray for my
daughter Stephanie. came home and is able to be home,
has a bit of PT yet to do before she's able to get out, but remember
her if you will. Thankful that Roger and Vicki
are able to be here this morning and remember Brother Joe Schwartz
as we pray and others and all the requests of the Lord's people.
I want to read Revelation chapter 7 as our reading this morning.
Revelation chapter 7. If you remember the opening words
of this book that were penned as John was led by the Spirit,
tell us this. This is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. It has to do with the Lord Jesus
Christ and his salvation of that people that he chose. And after these things, I saw
four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding
the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the
earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel
ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice
to the four angels, to whom was given to hurt the earth and the
sea. Hurt not the earth, neither the
sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God
in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them
which were sealed, and there were sealed an hundred and forty
and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Ged were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe
of Nephthalim were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Manassas were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Issachar were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed 12,000. Of
the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Benjamin
were sealed 12,000. After this, I beheld and lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations
and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. and cried with a loud voice,
saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round
about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and
fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying,
Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honor, and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answers,
saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. What a wonderful passage. Our Father, we lift up our voices. We pray our hearts in praise
and honor and thanksgiving, even as those who John beheld were
doing on this occasion. We praise you as the most high. We praise you as the one who
rules over all things. We praise you for your perfections,
your holiness, your righteousness, your justice. We praise you for
your love and for your grace and your mercy. We praise you
for your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who you made to your
people all of these things. We bless your name this day. We exalt you before those of
this world. We confess that you are God alone. We look and we behold all things
that take place as the work of your hand. You are the creator. You are the sustainer. You are
the ruler. You are the Bless her. You're
the judge of all the earth who must do right. We thank you for
all these things. We praise you for who you are
and for what you do for your people. And we ask in this hour
for your people. We pray for these that we have
mentioned. We ask your special care and
blessing and healing upon Betty Robin Bar. We pray for her this
morning and those that minister to her. We pray and thank you
for your goodness and grace to our own daughter and ask that
you would receive our thanks for that which you've done for
her. We pray that you might lift her up and restore to health
in every way as it pleases you. We thank you for Roger or Vicki. We thank you for Joe. We pray
that you'd bless these and so many more that are upon our hearts,
so many that we don't even know about of your people. We ask
that you would help them. We ask that you would meet with
us this morning with your special presence, that you would honor
your own promise for your glory, where two or three have been
gathered together in your name, there you would be in the midst. We ask that you might help us
and comfort us and encourage our hearts and assure us in Christ
and bless us from your word, the sweet promises that are yea
and amen in Christ. We pray that you might in all
our situations, in all our troubles, in all our cares personally and
as they are in this world in these days in which we live.
Bless and cause us to know that you are sovereignly ruling over
all things, working them for our good and for your glory,
keeping us and sustaining us and providing for us and causing
the seasons and the times never to cease until your coming. And
we pray, Lord Jesus, as we behold these times, that we might find
in the very doing of these things that are done, the remembrance
of those promises that you have made to your people to deliver
them and to keep them until the day of your appearance. We pray
and honor your name this morning. Pray for your people scattered
about this earth. Pray for those who preach the
truth as it is in Christ Jesus. We thank you. We ask for strength,
for wisdom, for understanding, for your spirit that we might
rightly divide the word of truth this morning. For we pray in
Christ's name, amen. And the hymn was, once again,
437. I am His, and He is mine. With everlasting love, let my
praise let them who know, spirit breathing crown, In a love which cannot cease
I am His and He is mine Oh, how well we'll see the green
Sun be moved and ivy blue Rise with songs I've never seen Words
with gladness in your voice Fire and leaves will dearly shine I am His and He is mine. Tens of millions I know, I am
His and He is mine. God of care and self-design, I am his and he is mine. I am his and he is mine. I am his and he is mine. I stand still, but I'll be cold.
Lord, I'm hurt, but I'll be free. Christ, I lie in Your arms. I am here, the need is mine. so so I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene And wonder how he could love
me A sinner condemned unpleased Singing how marvelous, how wonderful
And my song shall ever be And how marvelous, How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me He took my sin and my sorrows
He made them His very own He bore the burden to Calvary and
suffered and died alone. Singing how marvelous, how wonderful,
and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me! When with a ransomed in glory
His face I last shall see, To be my joy through the ages to
sing of His love for me. Sing how marvelous, how wonderful,
and my song shall ever be. And how marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior's love for me. Turn in your Bibles this morning
to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 32. If you've watched any news this
week, read any news, you've been confronted with the
name Israel. Israel. And that's the title of my message
this morning. and Israel. Where did this name come from? So familiar to so many, especially
at this hour. Where did it come from? Well,
it comes from the Bible. It's a Bible name. And if we
follow what I think is often a good way of study. If we follow
what is called the law of first mention, and we go back in the
Bible to see where a word is first mentioned, then it oftentimes
provides a key and opens us to that which it means. And the
first mention of Israel in this book is here in Genesis chapter
32. Let's begin reading with verse
24. At a period of time when Jacob is meeting his brother that he
fears, because of what he's done to him, and his brother's name
is Esau. Verse 24 says, And Jacob was
left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking
of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed
not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, And the
hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with
him. And he said, let me go, for the
day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee
go except thou bless me. And he said unto him, what is
thy name? And he said, And he said, Thy
name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. Israel. For as a prince hast
thou power with God and men, and hast prevailed. This is the first mention of
that name, Israel. Jacob and Israel are one. They're the same man. I believe they reflect and signify
every believer. First, what they are by nature. and secondly, by what they are
by grace. Jacob and Israel are here the
same. But Jacob also represents two
Israels. Look over with me in Romans,
the ninth chapter, And listen to Paul's words as he tells us
this very thing. Romans 9 and verse 3. He talks about his kinsmen according
to the flesh. And he says, who are Israelites,
to whom pertains the adoption and the glory and the covenants
and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises,
whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh,
Christ came, who is over all, God bless forever, amen. He's talking about that nation
and people of which he himself was born, that we read about
all through the Old Testament that God identified with, gave
the law, gave the covenants, all these things, and the people
through which Christ came, the lineage of the man Christ Jesus. But he says that the truth, that
the gospel seems to have had no effect on them. Verse 6, he says, not as though
the word of God hath taken none effect. In other words, the word
of God is not to an earthly people, but to a spiritual people. It may not seem to have taken
effect with an earthly people, but it will always take an effect
on a spiritual people by this name. And notice what he says,
for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. They may be part of one nation
of Israel, but they are not a part of thee, nation of Israel, that
holy nation that the apostle speaks of. They are not all of
Israel that are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of
Abraham are they children, are they all children, but in Isaac
shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are accounted for the seed. Not all that are
national Israel, not all that are naturally born of Abraham
are of the promise, but these children of the promise of God's
grace in Christ. There is a people, a nation,
Israel physically, and there is an Israel spiritually. And God, in time, has identified
with both. And He shows us in them both
what we are naturally and what He makes His people by grace. In other words, what He makes
them in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, this man, Jacob, by
his very birth, by his very life, and by his very name, signifies
what all of us are by nature. The name Jacob means a conniver,
A supplanter, in other words, a supplanter takes over or takes
the place of someone else, deceives, and usually does it on purpose. His name means heel catcher. And he caught his brother by
the heel at their birth. He was a twin. And he caught
his heel at birth, and he showed himself a tripper all his days,
a conniver all his days. Jacob from his birth, and Jacob
by nature, is signified in this way. And after that came his
brother out, and his hand took hold upon Esau's heel, and his
name was called Jacob. And Isaac was three score years
old when she buried him. Here's Isaac fathering this child,
these children, these twins, and here is Jacob, the second
one who comes out, but he has the heel of his brother in his
hand. Therefore, he's called Jacob. It is a picture of every sinner,
and this conduct characterized Jacob all his days, and also
it characterized the nation of Israel all their days. They were just like one another. He tricked Esau. He tricked his
brother-in-law Laban, and that was the way of Israel all throughout
this Old Testament. You cannot dress them up. You cannot make them to be a
shining example of other nations. You cannot look at Jacob and
say, he's what a man ought to be. He's a sinner. And the nation
of Israel showed themselves sinners all their days. They were never
ever, either one of them, blessed by God because of their conduct
or their obedience or their doing God's will, not ever on any occasion. He was a sinner. They were all
sinners doing what sinners do, which is sinning all their days. Yet all his days and all Israel's history, they
were favored by God. How can we ever read the pages
of Scripture and not have to admit that even though they were
what they were, even though they did what they did, even in their
disobedience and their failures, they were always favored by God. They neither deserved it, they were hated by those it cost,
it cost a lot of people for God to favor Jacob and Israel. But they didn't deserve it, and
though they were hated by those that it caused, they were unmistakably
and undeniably favored by God. If you want to find the reason
why they were both Him as an individual and them as a nation,
you have to go back to the reason God is gracious and merciful
simply to anybody He is. It's because He said, I will
have mercy. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. And Jacob, when he received the
birthright. If you go back in Genesis chapter
30, you find Jacob received this birthright what seemingly is
by his trickery and deceit in conjunction with his own mother. He received the birthright. And the same is true of Israel
as this nation chosen by God and favored by God, because Moses
writes in Deuteronomy 7 these words. He said, 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. There was no reason in them,
there was no cause by that which they did or their obedience,
yet rather it was that they were disobedient and failures in every
way, but still the Lord favored them. And the more He favored them,
the more the nations of the earth at that time, they hated this
people who they saw as probably worse than themselves, but nevertheless
God favored them. Does that sound familiar to you? Could it not be said that the
Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because
you were the best, or because you were the most responsive,
or you were the most obedient, or any other thing like that,
that He just set His love upon you and chose you because He
wanted to. Because He does favor His people. Turn over to Exodus chapter 3. Listen to this. Exodus chapter 3. And look down in verse 22. When God was about to deliver
the Israelites out of Egypt. What we call the Exodus. He was about to bring them out
and He was about to liberate them and set them free and release
them from the bondage. But look here in Exodus chapter
3 and verse 22 at his command to these people. He says, But every woman shall
borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house,
jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and raiment, and ye shall put
them upon your sons and upon your daughters." In other words,
they were to go amongst the Egyptians and everybody that they had any
favor with whatsoever, they were to borrow their golden jewelry
and their earrings and their silver and everything like that
and not return it. You say, well, those scoundrels,
they're about to leave Egypt, and they were going to take and
borrow all this stuff knowing that they'd be delivered. But
look at what it says in that latter phrase. He says, and ye
shall spoil thee, Egyptians. You didn't work for that gold.
You didn't pay for that gold. It didn't rightfully belong to
you. But God said, I'm giving it to
you. I'm giving it to you. To this murmuring people. to
this people who deserve to be in captivity, which they were
because of disobedience, but because God had made them his
covenant people, set his love upon them, chose them, he was
delivering them, and not only delivering them, but giving him
the most valuable things that these Egyptians had. Turn over to the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 6. It's strange,
the language of God. It's contrary to flesh. It's contrary to religion, the
language of God in grace to his people. Deuteronomy 6. And verses 10 and 11. He says through Moses to this
people, and it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought
thee into the land which he swear unto thy fathers, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities
which thou buildest not. You're just going to move in. You're just going to take over. Doesn't matter who on earth has
the title. Doesn't matter on how hard they
labored to build it. Doesn't matter on how much they
feel like they possess it. I'm giving it to you. you're going to move in. That's grace. And houses full of all good things,
which thou fillest not, and wells digged, which thou diggest not,
and vineyards, and olive trees, which thou plantest not, when
thou shall have eaten and be full." I'm going to give you grapes
off the vines that you never even set out, as we used to say. I'm going to give you that which
is the finest fruit of the land, grapes and vineyards of apples
and oranges and everything. You just move in. It's all there. It's all completed. That's the
grace of God. That's what He gives spiritual
Israel. He gives us that which we don't
deserve. He gives us that which we don't
work for. He gives us that which is given
to us just according to His choice through the work and the labor
of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Israel of God. Such a wretched man Jacob was,
and such a wretched nation Israel was, yet they were favored, they
were preserved, they were protected by the sovereign God of the Scriptures
who calls himself the God of Jacob and the God of Israel. Look over in Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah chapter 43. Verse 1. But now thus saith the Lord that
created You see, He created all, and it all belongs to Him, and
He can give it to whom He pleases. There's no one in Adam's race
that deserves it. He gives it as a gift. But now
thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have
called thee by thy name, and thou art mine. Mine. And when thou passest through
the waters, I'll be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God. the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee. He destroyed whole nations, defeated
whole nations, destroyed, multiplied millions, and gave all they had
to one people. Everything. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and
I have loved thee, therefore I will give men for thee, and
people for thy life. I'm going to preserve you. I'm
going to keep you. I'm going to show my grace to
you. I'm going to show what grace
is and mercy is if I have to kill every other person on the
earth to assure it. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather them from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Even every
one that is called by my name, for I have created him for my
glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him. That's what we're reading in
the book of Revelation. He commands the very wind, the
kings of the earth, the tides, the sun, everything to work in
order to bring this people, spiritual Israel, to the Lord Jesus Christ
and then home to glory. and he'll do what it takes. Bring
forth the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered
together. Let the people be assembled.
Who among them can declare this and show us former things? Let
them bring forth their witnesses that they may be justified, or
let them hear and say, it is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith
the Lord. and my servant whom I have chosen,
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am
he. And before me there was no God
formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord,
and beside me there is no Savior." That's what they're going to
witness too. That God is God. He can do what He pleases. He
has done what He pleased. And He's been pleased to make
this spiritual Israel a people out of every nation and kindred
tribe. He's pleased to make them His
people. He's redeemed them. He's set
them free. He's given them all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus the Lord. And they've been hated because
of that. They've been despised for it.
When it happened in individual families, Esau hated Jacob. When it happened in the family
of Abraham, Ishmael hated Isaac. Turn over to Galatians chapter
four. Galatians chapter four, look
at verse 28. Paul says, now we brethren, as
Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so it is now." It was the same in Paul's day. When he identified with national
Israel, everything was fine. He was a hero. He was a great
teacher. He was a great man. Great moral
example. But when he was brought to Christ,
by Christ, and he identified with spiritual Israel, they despised him. They despised him. Why? Because he made no claim of receiving
anything from God because he was an Israelite, because he
was a good man, because he was a teacher, because he kept the
law. They hated him because he said,
it was all given me in Christ. I am what I am by the grace of
God. I can't claim my association
with natural Jews. I can't claim my birth naturally. I can't claim anything. As a
matter of fact, I repent of it. I renounce it. I identify with
this Christ, this man, Jesus of Nazareth. He's the gift, the
unspeakable gift of God. Nevertheless, what saith the
Spirit? Cast out the bondwoman and her
son. For the son of the bondwoman
shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren,
we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Do what? cast her out. That's what Abraham
had to do. He had to throw her out of his
house. He had to throw Ishmael out of his
house. Although there was natural love,
he couldn't count him among these that were the heirs, especially
Isaac. No child of the flesh, no product
of human works could ever be a part of that grace. Just this
one that was promised, that was born supernaturally of Sarah,
Isaac. That's the way it is with every
one of God's elect. That's the way we're blessed
and favored. and protected and provided for
and have been from old eternity. And that's the way we've been
all our days. All our days. Even including everything everybody
has ever done against us. And everything we've ever done
against ourselves and against God, every sin, every failure, what does the scripture say?
He was working all things together for our good. Everything. You know, some sins, we differentiate
some sins in our mind. Some sins come back to us as
so horrible, so bad, we just can't hardly even
think about them. We grieve over the fact that
we did those things, even in the light of what God says that
he has forgiven his people of all our sins, that his blood
cleanses us from all sins. But the truth is, we don't know
the worst sins. They may be bad, particularly
morally. They may be bad in some other
way. They just haunt us and all. But
the truth of the matter is, every day we lived presenting to God
our own selves, our own works, our own worthiness, our own self-righteousness. That was the most horrible of
all. Because that which is highly
esteemed of men, not shuttered at, not haunted with, but that
which is highly esteemed of men, is an abomination in God's sight. Amen. That's God's grace to us. When we care nothing about Him,
That didn't stop Him from caring for us. When our eyes turned toward the
earth, we never even began to look toward God in any way. Or
if we did, it was to an idol. But He looked to us. In Christ, He counted us as the
apple of His eye. His Israel. His Prince with God. He blessed us. He chose us. He blessed us with all spiritual
blessing. He preserved us in Christ Jesus. And he accounted us as the true
Israel. A man sent me a message this morning
from, I believe it was Indiana. The fact that God changes, he
says, maybe that changes not, that God has said, I change not,
that might be one of the greatest passages of scripture in the
Bible. Because he says, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, your sons of Jacob
are not consigned. His love toward his people is
unchangeable. His purpose toward his true Israel
is unchangeable. He will save his people from
their sins. He will do it in a glorious way. Turn over to Romans chapter two. Romans chapter two. And look down at verse 17. Behold, thou art called a Jew,
and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest
his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being
instructed out of the law, and art confident that thou art thyself
that thyself art a guide of the blind, and a light to them which
are in darkness, and an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
babes, which thou hast the form of knowledge, and of truth in
the law. But, he said, that's what you
Jews after the flesh believe. That's what all religious people
after the flesh believe. Thou, therefore, which teachest
another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should
not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should
not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest
idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of
the law through breaking the law, dishonest thou God? For
the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you,
as it is written, for circumcision verily profiteth if you keep
the law. But if thou be a breaker of the
law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision, so that Jew and
Gentile, after the flesh, they're in the same boat. They're really both uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision
keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision
be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision,
which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee who by the
letter and circumcision does transgress the law? But look at what he says in verse
28. For he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, and neither is that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh. But he is a Jew, a true Jew,
we might say, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not of men, but of God." That's what God looks
at. Turn over to Romans 9. Romans 9. Look at verse 27. He says also cry concerning Israel. Though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. Though all the nation of Israel
be all these many people, a remnant shall be saved. For he will finish
the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short
work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah saith
before, except the Lord of Sabaoth hath left us a seed, we'd have
been as Sodom and Gomorrah, and been made like unto Gomorrah. If the Lord, in His grace, had
not chosen a people from national Israel, a seed, a remnant that
have been just like all those Gentiles destroyed. What shall
we say then, that the Gentiles, which follow not after righteousness,
have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which
is a thing? But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness,
wherefore, or why? Because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled
at the stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold, I lay in
Zion a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. They stumbled. They had hope
in being the people of God by nature, pleasing God by what
they did and don't do, keeping the law, and not receiving that
gift that God gives by faith. Look down at Romans 11. Look
at verse 26. And so all Israel shall be saved. You know that can't mean national
Israel. We know some of them are already
in hell. God said they were. What Israel
is he talking about? The one I'm talking about. Spiritual
Israel. God's elect. His church. His chosen people. And so all
Israel shall be saved. How? As it is written, there
shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. How did Israel come to be delivered
out of Egypt. God sent a deliverer. He sent
Moses into that land and delivered them. He delivered them and he
passed over them and released them because of the blood that
was the blood of the Passover lamb. That's why Paul said Christ our
Passover is sacrificed for us. Look over in Philippians chapter
3. Philippians chapter 3. This is such a wonderful passage. Philippians 3 verse 1. He says,
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, to write the same
things to you. To me indeed is not grievous,
but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil
workers. Beware of the concision. Those who preach, who trust in salvation
by something done in the flesh. Beware of them. He calls them
dogs. Four, we are the circumcision. We are the true Israel. We are the real Jacobs who become
Israel, which worship God in the spirit,
not all these external things. and rejoice in Christ Jesus. He's our only joy. He's all our
salvation. We rejoice in Christ. We preach
Christ because we want to hear about Him. Because all the promises
of God are yes and amen in Him. Because in Him is salvation.
Because He's in God and all these things. We rejoice in Christ
Jesus and have no Confidence in the flesh. Not the best flesh. Not the best flesh. Turn to Galatians chapter six. Galatians 6 and verse 14. Paul
writes to the church of Galatia who've been plagued with these
Judaizers. He says, but God forbid that
I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom
the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. everything,
every connection with this world, this present evil world, this
world that's condemned by God, I'm separated from that. For
in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature. Oh, I mean, you've got to straighten
up and be a new creature. Paul says, if any man be in Christ,
he's what? A new creature. That's the only
way you are a new creature. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them and mercy and
upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble
me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. You see, this is who Christ died
for. When Christ was crucified, Pilate, wicked man, agreed with all these chief priests
and leaders just to appease. He had the Lord crucified, and
on that cross, he put an inscription. He had the soldiers to put an
inscription. Jesus of Nazareth, the King of
the Jews. He had it done in Greek, Hebrew,
and Latin, all three languages of the known world at that time. And those religious scribes and
pharisees, they all came running to him, insisting, no, no change
there. They had already said, we'll
not have this man to rule over us. They said, change that. Say that he said or claimed to
be the King of the Jews. But Pilate, he could only do
what the devil can do, what you can do, he could only do what
God would let him do. And he said, what I've written,
I've written. Because he was, and he died,
and suffered the king of the Jews. When he was on the Mount of Transfiguration,
Moses and Elijah appeared there with him. And it says that they were all
talking about the same thing. He was and they were. They were
discussing, speaking of his decease. His deceit, you know what that
is. You know what it is. His deceit, the Greek word is
exodus. They were discussing his exodus,
which pictured the going forth of Christ from the grave in the
earth and taking with it his people. that he would accomplish. That's what Christ did. He had
accomplished an exodus, a redemption, a deliverance, a salvation of
his true people, Jacob's as they are by nature, but Israel, princes
with God, his people that he's identified with, He's Exodus,
deceased. And when he entered into glory,
it says that he entered in together with them. We're already in Christ,
seated in the heavenlies. Already the Exodus has taken
place. Acts, the God of our fathers
raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath
God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior,
and for to give repentance to who? Israel. He gives faith. He gives repentance
to this Israel of God, not to the nation Israel. Acts again. Because, therefore, have I called
you to see you and to speak with you, because that for the hope
of Israel I'm bound in chains." Paul was in prison for preaching
the gospel. Why? For the hope of Israel. It's the nation of Israel still naturally favored of God? I don't know. And I don't believe anybody else
does or not. But I know what God did in giving
him as a type of his people. I don't have to know if he is
or not. I just know that this Israel,
these Jacobs, will be saved every one of them. Everything we've
ever had, we did deserve. Everything that we've ever done,
it's not by our strength, it's not by our decision, it's not
by our faithfulness, it's not by anything. We've been just
the opposite. We've been like those Israelites
and like Jacob, the conniver. One time Jacob, in the discussion
with his father-in-law, I mean his brother-in-law, because he
wanted Rachel for his wife. But he kept lying to him. He kept deceiving him. He was as bad a conniver as Jacob
was. So he gave Leah as his wife instead
of Rachel. And so finally Jacob said, I've
had enough. Let's make, let's get this settled
once for all. You just tell me what you're
gonna give me, what I have to do. And Laban said, well, make a
deal, Jacob. He said, I'll give you all the
spotted and the ring straight, all the, all the, culls, you
might say, of the herds. I'll give you all the ones that don't sell good and
the ones that don't look too good. You just can have all of
them. Jacob went out. He set up some
reeds, I don't even know exactly what his process was and why
it happened. I know why it happened, but I
don't know what his means was. I have a feeling his purpose
was to out-deceive Laban. But all the cattle, all these
sheep, when they began to breed, Just about all their offsprings
were, guess what? They were the ring straped, the
spotted. And one day Jacob said to his
wives, he said, your brother has tried to connive me. But he said, God has given me
all these herds, has given me all that he has. When Abraham sent his servant
down to find a bride, he said this of him, the servant. He said, my master, Abraham,
he's got cows and sheep and goats and he's got lots of stuff. And he's given all he has to
his son. If God gives us Christ and gives
us to Christ, we've got all he has. Jacobs, we're certainly there. I don't know if the nation of
Israel is still favored. I wouldn't bet against them. I don't know that. But if I know
this, this is the truth. And when Jesus saw Nathanael
coming to him, his words always stick in my mind. He said, behold, an Israelite
indeed. He's not just an Israelite after
the flood. He's an Israelite indeed. in
whom is no God." Now that word fits Jacob's God,
the seed. But the Israelites of God, the
Jacobs of God, they have no God. in that which pertains to God.
We're not trying to trick anybody as to who God is. He's the absolute,
sovereign, holy God who does what He will, saves whom He will. He's God. No guile about it. We don't misrepresent Him. We don't make Him more palatable
to people. And then we've got no guile about
ourselves. Jacob all the way. Cannibals
all the way. Sinners all the way. And our
flesh dwells in no good thing. And we know God about Christ. He's the successful accomplisher. In his death, he accomplished
salvation. In his death, he put away the
sins of his people. He redeemed them to God. by his
own blood. And there's no guile about how
he saved sinners. His cross death. His grace. We don't believe part of the
word, not another part of the word. And then there's Israel. Our Father, we thank you. In
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that King of the Jews. Help us. Help us to praise your
right. Help us to believe on your name. Watch over us and Grant to us
by your grace things that we have no right of, no claim on,
no reason to get, just mercy and grace. We thank you in Christ's name,
amen. Holy moly.