Turn back with me this morning,
if you would, to Psalm 65. Psalm 65. I thought about it this week. Religion always has It's clichés. It's little popular bywords. And the one that I hear so often
in these days is the word blessed. You ask some people how they
are. Oh, I'm blessed. Or you depart from them, and
they say something like, have a blessed day. But I'm afraid that what men
call blessed, God calls cursed. And what God calls blessed, men
call cursed. You see, the power to bless or
to curse belongs to God. Hold your place here and look
over in Matthew 25. You see, all men will either
be blessed or cursed by God. Here in Matthew 25, when Christ
is describing how it will be at that great hour of division,
when He says He will separate His sheep on His right hand,
but the goats on the left, look at verse 34. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. But then look also down in verse
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
his angels." Here in Psalm 65 is a man who
is truly blessed of God. As a matter of fact, he is used
of God to write this psalm. His name is David. And this is a song of David. And unless we have lest we have
some false conception of David. This is David the sinner, the
adulterer. This is David the murderer. David, the man found sometimes
disobeying God. And amazingly, he is happy. As a matter of fact, that's what
this word blessed means. It means happy. But a man or a woman cannot be
truly happy. They are not really blessed unless
God is happy with them. How in the world Could God in
His holiness be happy with David in his sinfulness? But not only is David blessed
of God, he is led by the Spirit of God to describe all who are
blessed of God. Look there with me. in that fourth
verse. And that fourth verse is a statement
that begins with this word, blessed. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell
in thy courts, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
even of thy holy temple." I wonder sometimes if we really
believe this. Do we really believe God. Do we really believe that this
book is the Word of God? And that is what we are to believe
about all things, but especially, especially in the matter of how
God saves sinners. that we are to believe what He
says, or rather who He says is blessed and who He says is cursed. And the Bible tells us that it
is not only difficult, but it is also impossible for us to
understand and believe its meaning apart from a work of God's grace
in us because of our fallen nature,
because we are blind to the truth of God. We have to be taught
of God. Paul, stating this in one sentence,
in one verse, says it like this, because the carnal mind, and
all that means is our natural mind, the mind we have from our
natural birth, but the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. That's what we are by nature. And apart from God's grace teaching
us and showing us and revealing to us and giving us eyes to see,
spiritual life will perish. God must not only give us understanding,
but He must also give us a heart and a will to receive the things
of His Word. If our natural mind and heart
is enmity or naturally against what God says, then He must do
something in us to give us a mind and a will, not only to understand
what He's saying, but to believe it and receive it. Paul again
writing to the Corinthians, but as it is written, I hath not
seen nor e'er heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. And the natural man receives
not the things of God, the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned." And then Paul says this to the
Corinthians and to the Lord's people everywhere. But God hath
revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God." This fourth verse is one of those
great summary verses. If God were to have left something
like a time capsule and a summary of the gospel in one verse, a
verse like this fourth verse would surely do. You see, men
say that they are blessed if they have good health, a good family, wealth or a sufficient financial
means, and on and on it goes. But the truth is, those things
may in the end prove a curse to them. What men refuse by nature, what
they think and may even call unfair what they seek to explain
away in the Bible, God plainly declares it. And this is the message of the
Scripture, what it says in this verse. And this is the only good
news that it sets forth and is that message that we are commanded
to believe. Blessed. In another place, David
says this, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose
sin is covered. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusts
in Him. Blessed is that man that maketh
the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn
away aside to lies." And then this verse, this fourth
verse. in the which he gives something
like five different things that show us and describe for us how
a sinner is blessed by God. Look at what he says. He says, first of all, that the
blessing is to be chosen of God. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest. In other words, blessed is that
person, man or woman, whom God chooses. Now, I know what religion says
in our day. There is always an effort to
get men and women to make a choice or to choose God. This is what God says. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest. And what David does here in the
very beginning of explaining or declaring what true blessing
is, he goes back to the fountainhead, if you would, of all blessing,
and that is God Himself. Blessing can only start with
and come from, and be in God." He starts here with God's sovereign
choice of His people. And what you find when you read
this book, I mean when you read and study the Scriptures with
the Spirit of God being your teacher, What you find is that
the choice he speaks of here has already taken place. He's already done it. He's not
talking here about something that God will do. He's talking
here about something that God already has done. And it has
to be this way in order for God to get all the glory in salvation. You see, the question is not
and never is whether or not man has any ability or even the privilege
to choose. The question is whose choice
is the first cause of the blessing of salvation. Because whoever's
choice it is, that's the one who gets the glory. If salvation depends upon us,
or a choice made by us, then we ultimately must get the glory
because we determined it. But if salvation arises out of
the choice of God, then He's the one who determined it, and
He's the one who gets the glory. Man is a rational being, and
he makes many choices. But more than that, he is also
a sinful fallen being and therefore does not and never has of himself
chosen God. And men and women are lulled
into a death sleep in our day, being told that God has done
all He can do, that everything is now up to a sinner, And it's
up to your choice, make your decision. And if you decide to,
you're okay. If you decide to, you just pay
the consequences. What would ever make us think
that in a matter this essential and important, and that is the
salvation of the souls of men, that which is the chief of God's
glory, what would ever make us think that this would be left
into the hands of blind rebel sinners like we are. No one of themselves chooses
God, and God does not choose all men. That's a big pill to swallow
for some. And yet, when you look at this
book, you barely get a few chapters into this book before it is obvious
that God chose Noah and his family in delivering grace, and all
the world in his day perished in the flood. And then you don't get very far
at all before you come up with this nation of Israel. Here is one small nation from
among all the nations of the world, and God reveals Himself
to this one nation, has His servant in one nation, has His worship
in one nation and one people, and bypasses everybody else. Turn over to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9, here is a man
of Israel himself. And he knows that that has been
the case. He knows that Jehovah God, has
identified with his nation all since its origin, and yet he
knows also that that nation was simply a picture and a type of
a spiritual nation. Those who are the objects of
the everlasting love of God and truly are the people of God spiritually. Listen to what he says in Romans
9. I say the truth in Christ, I
lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. Why? For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth 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 blessed forever. Amen. What's he talking about? He's
talking about all the outward privileges that belong to this
one nation set apart by God. The law came through them. Everything
was done by God in the midst of them, even His Shekinah glory
in the tabernacle and temple, even to the coming of the Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ, as far as the flesh is concerned. But he said most of them don't
believe. Most of them have no interest
in Christ. Most of them have thoroughly
rejected Christ. He says in verse 6, "...but it
is not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for
they are not all Israel which are of Israel." It's not that the word of God
is untrue, all the promises that were made to Israel. It's not
that the gospel is at a loss. The thing is, they are not all
Israel. They're not all in this spiritual
Israel that are in this natural Israel. Why? Because there's
a remnant. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham 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. Everybody running
around talking about Israel as if in our day. If everything just doesn't go
just exactly right with that nation of people, though they
are in themselves like every other Christ-haters, that somehow
everything is special with them. Is that what that sounds like? But the children of the promise
are counted for the seed." That's who the people of God are, the
children of promise. He says, for this is the word
of promise, or the word of the promise is like this, at this
time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this,
but when Rebecca, also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac."
Verse 12, "...it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the
younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated." You notice I missed a verse there,
don't you? And that is a verse, a parenthetical
statement that is in here by the Spirit of God wherein He
says in verse 11, "...for the children being not yet born,"
who's that? These two boys that were born
or conceived at the same time by the same father, Isaac, and
who were born at the same time and who lived before the same
parents and in the same environment and had the same outward privilege, for the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according
to election, that the purpose of God according to His choice
might stand not of works. There has never been received
of any of the descendants of Adam and Eve in the favor of
God any person based on their works. That's so clear. And yet it is
so common to hear men and women attribute their hope of salvation,
their hope of going to heaven, on such things as their having
done the best that they could. That's not good enough. Having
lived a clean life, you should have. But man at his best state, that's
what the Scripture says, at his best state is altogether vanity. And there is not one of us that
does good in the sight of God, though we may do good comparatively
to one another. There is none of us that doeth
good. There is none of us that understandeth. There is none of us that are
righteous. There are none of us who of themselves
seek God. Just read Romans 3. But he gives these two children,
these two twins, he gives these two twins as a
picture, as an illustration of how the promise of God and the
salvation of God and the grace of God in Christ is, he says,
for the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works, but of him that calleth." It's all of God. When Jonah was brought down to
the very depths of the sea in the belly of the fish, the one
thing that he was brought to confess there after not even
wanting to go with the message of God to the Ninevites was this. He said, salvation is of the
Lord. It's of the Lord in every part. It's of the Lord in His purposing. It's of the Lord in His purchasing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's of the Lord in His producing
it in the sinner. It's of the Lord in His perpetuating
it for all eternity. Salvation is of God. Not our choice. It's His choice. You see, when you stop and think
about it, when we were in our Father Adam in the garden, in
a perfect garden paradise, what did we choose? To rebel against God. When He came in human flesh,
Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh, what did men choose? He said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would
not. That's the will of man, Christ
says. He says to those Pharisees, religious
and moral, search the Scriptures, or you search the Scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they
which testify of Me. And you will not. You will not come to Me that
you might have life. The notion of free will is so
against what the Bible says. It is so against what we are
by nature. It is so much against the one
will that really counts, and especially in salvation. He said, you will not come to
me that you might have life. What does that mean? You're dead.
You're spiritually dead. You see, when Christ confronted
His own people, turn over to Luke chapter 4. Luke chapter
4, and this is when the Lord Jesus Christ came back to His
hometown. He came back to His own people.
And he stood up as he had done before in the synagogue and took
the Scriptures and read from the Scriptures and said, this
Scripture is fulfilled in your eyes today. But look down in Luke chapter
4 and verse 25. He didn't just stop there. Why? Because he knew what was in their
hearts. He knows what's in our hearts.
He says, "...but I tell you of a truth. Many widows were in
Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three
years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the
land." He said there were many starving hungry widows in Israel
during that time. But unto none of them was Eli
sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was
a widow." God sent His prophet which meant that that one to
whom he was sent would have bread, as turned out to be the case.
He didn't send him to anybody else except that one, and she
had bread because of that. And she wasn't one of them. All
right, look at this. And many lepers were in Israel
at the time of Elisha the prophet. There were many lepers. And none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian. In other words, He is confronting
them with this truth, that God, as He told Moses, will
have mercy on whom he'll have mercy. He'll be gracious to whom
he'll be gracious. And just because they were of
the nation of Israel after the flesh didn't mean they had the
favor of God in this sense. And he sent a prophet to that
Gentile widow, and he cleansed that Gentile man by the name
of Naaman. How will they respond to that? And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath." You mean to tell me God's not
proud of me? You mean to tell me that as good
as I've lived and what I... He's not going to accept me on
the basis of that. That's no better than the person
out here that's lived a drunk and a bum and whatever. in His
sight as far as a standing of salvation? No. No. Not me because I preach? Not
the cleanest woman? Not the most upright man? He
says when we have done all these things, done the very best we
can and should, we are still unprofitable servants. And they rose up and thrust him
out of the city. and led him unto the brow of
the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him
down headlong." That's the response of men and women to the gospel,
which is the gospel of the free and sovereign grace of God in
Christ. You can tell men and women how
good they are and how proud you are of them and brag on them
and just recognize them and tell them they're as sure of heaven
as if they were already there. You can do all these things except confront them with the
reality. Salvation is of the Lord. He'll never accept what
he doesn't give. He'll never receive a work that
he himself did not do because he's God. And he has shown us in so many
ways that he must save and that he will save whom he will for
his glory. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ
to those he spoke to were these, you have not chosen me, But I have chosen you." Why don't men choose Christ? Oh, it's inability for sure. But this inability is simply
unwillingness and rebellion and a nature of sin. And you see,
if I blame God, For choosing some and bypassing others, I'm
saying that the reason for His choice ought to be because of
something in the center. That's the way it's going to
be. That's the way it's always been from old eternity. That's
the way it's going to be in all eternity future. God saves His
people. And it may be my children, or
it may not be. It may be my friends, or it may
not be. But that choice is His. He's going to do it all, and
He's going to get all the glory and honor in it. It's going to
be to the praise of His glory and grace forever, because none
of us deserve it. None of us. in any sinner to cause God to
choose them. But you know what Paul says in
his day and in every day? While there is defiance against
the truth, while the gospel, it seems, goes begging and preaching,
while men and women are so absorbed in self-righteous works, religion,
and a social club of some kind in which everybody brags on each,
everybody, nobody says what God says. In that time, he says, there is still a remnant
according to the election of grace. That word elect means to choose,
to pick out. And he says that there is a remnant
according to the election of grace. A remnant is a part of
the whole. It's not all, but it's a part. It says Christ laid down His
life for the sheep. We just read there in Matthew
that not all are sheep. He said to those Pharisees, you
are of your father the devil. He said he gave his life a ransom
for many. You see, contrary to what men
want to believe by nature and what they are told by false religion
is the glory of God does not depend on Him saving everybody. The glory of God depends on Him
saving everyone that He purposed to save. The glory of God depends
on Him saving everyone that Christ laid down His life for as a substitute. The glory of God depends on Him
saving everyone He chose. And you know what? This was one
of the first things that Saul of Tarsus, when the Lord confronted
him, this is one of the first things that he taught him. He
said, you go straight down to Damascus to a street called Straight. I've got a man there that's going
to tell you something that you've got to know. And Anna and I said to him, the God
of our fathers, hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his
will, and see that just one, and should hear the voice of
his mouth." You see, Christ is set forth
in Scripture as God's first or chief elect. He says, "'Behold My servant,
whom I uphold, Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth. I have put My Spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles.'" That's the Messiah. Look back
in Isaiah 65. Isaiah 65, and look down at verse 9. Jehovah God says, and I will
bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor
of my mountains. What does that mean? That means
the inheritor of everything. And mine elect shall inherit
it, and my servants shall dwell there. How could God ever choose you
or me? He's not like the Marine Corps.
They're always looking for a few good men. He knew there wasn't
any. So how could he ever choose us? It's in this heir. This one he
says, I'll bring forth as the inheritor of my mountains. And
he does that by making us joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
1. Ephesians 1, now listen to this. Ephesians 1, verse 3, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us. You know, people are always asking
the Lord to bless them. And I suppose there's a sense
in which that's fine. But you know where the real blessing
is? The real blessing is in finding
out He's already blessed us. I believe every one of the Lord's
people here this morning could say that with all truth of heart, that the real
blessing was when we found out that He had already blessed us. You see, those He blessed, He
blessed them before they found out about it. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us. everybody who
hath blessed us." He's writing to believers here at Ephesus,
who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings. I mean, that's everything. There's
nothing left after that. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. And that's the only blessings
that are going to remain. Everything else that men have
called blessings, it's all going to be burned with fire. And the
only thing that will last is that which is spiritual and eternal. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings. That's why this notion of rewards
in heaven, of one living in a big mansion and another living in
a cabin in the corner of glory land, all that stuff, is utterly
unbiblical and ridiculous. If He has blessed us with all
spiritual blessings, that's all there is. And He says
He's blessed us in the heavenlies. That's what that literally says
there in the Greek. In the heavenlies. In the high places. In that place
in His presence where it can never be altered or changed or
done away with. But look at this, that He hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. You see, that's the only way
that God could ever love any of us, and most definitely ever
choose any of us, is to choose us in His Son, in our representative,
in the one who He set as the last Adam, in the one that He
ordained to be the heir of all things. And make us joint heirs
with Him. And view us as those that He
has justified and made righteous and accepted in Him. Chosen in Him. Because that's what it says in
verse 4. According as He hath chosen us, in him before the
foundation of the world." That's why such ridiculous attempts
to explain away this truth have been made. Somebody says, well,
it's like a vote. God votes one vote for you, and
you vote, and the devil votes one vote against you, and you
cast the deciding vote. Neither the devil nor us were
present when this was done before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the
world. Turn over to Matthew. Quickly
let me point out some verses to you. Matthew chapter 24. If you want to know why things
go on as they do in this awful state, if you want to know how
safe the people of God are, if you want to know why things happen
as they do in such an hour as this, Matthew 24, listen to what
our Lord says. He says, "...and except those
days should be shortened." These days of tribulation. There should no flesh be saved,
but for the elect's sake those days shall be short." Now, that most likely has reference
to the whole time between the first coming and the second coming
of Christ, which he described as tribulation all the way through. But look down at verse 4, 24
rather. For there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders,
insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. If it were possible. But Christ
said, My sheep hear My voice. And they follow me. They will
not hear the voice of a stranger." And then look down at verse 31,
at His coming. And He shall send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the
other. Who are they going to gather?
is elect, is chosen, chosen in Christ. All right, look over
in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, and look down
in verse 33. to the charge of God's elect. No one can lay anything to the
charge of God's elect. Why? Because it is God that justifies. You know what that means? It
means it is God who has declared them righteous. Who has declared with an unchanging
and unalterable decree that they are righteous in Christ. They are made the
righteousness of God in Him. Look at that next verse. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Who? These elect? That's who Christ came to die
for. He came to lay down His life
in the full payment for their sins. And when He hung there on that
cross, He suffered at the hands of God's justice who required
in the punishment of their sin that He bear as their substitute
and Savior just exactly what was due them. God justifies them through the
person and the work of His Son, therefore being freely justified
by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He loved
them and He chose them in Christ before the world began. And Christ,
in that everlasting covenant, said He is sealed to go as their
substitute in human flesh and to bear their sins in His own
body on the tree. He appointed Christ as their
surety. And when He put them in union
with Christ, He chose them in union with Christ, joined them
to Christ, He separated from them all their sins and laid
them on Christ the surety. And He came in time. And He died. That sin is never
going to be brought up again. Turn over to Colossians chapter
3. Colossians chapter 3 and verse
12. Listen to what Paul says to these
believers at a place called Colossae, the church. Put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved. Now, wait a minute. He's going
to instruct them to do some things that there's a possibility they
might not altogether have been doing as they should. But He
addresses them as the elect of God and describes them as holy
and beloved. Weren't they just like us? They were. But all the Lord's
people are holy and beloved in His sight. because he never sees
them anywhere but in Christ. He says, put on therefore as
the elect of God, holy and beloved vows of mercies and kindness
and humbleness and of mine, and meekness, and longsuffering,
forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against you, even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye." Not in order to be saved, but because you are His chosen.
You are His people. You are the redeemed of Christ.
All right? 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 2. And verse
10, listen to Paul. He writes to Timothy. He's in
prison for preaching the gospel. But he says in verse 10, Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Why do you keep preaching this
gospel of free grace, of a sovereign God who saves whom He will, of
salvation in Christ alone, only by His blood, only by His righteousness? Why do you keep preaching this,
Paul, if they throw you in prison for it? He said, for the elect's sake,
that they might hear this good news that God in everlasting
love chose them, purposed to be merciful to them and gracious
to them and to reveal Himself to them in the person of Jesus
Christ who came to die for their sins. They're going to know it. They're going to know it. Just a page or two over to Titus
1. Titus 1 and verse 1. Listen,
when Paul writes to Titus, he gets nowhere into this letter
until he has to state this. Paul, a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect,
and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness
in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised
before the world began. This is not a matter left up
to chance. This is the purpose of God. Turn over to 1 Peter, chapter
1. 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 1. Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father." That doesn't mean that God just
knew ahead of time who would choose Him, and therefore He
chose them. The same word is to be found over here in verse
20. It says, "...of him who was verily
foreordained." Foreordained of God. Through sanctification of
the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied." Turn back to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Not long before the verses that
we're going to read, it says that God sent strong delusion
to some, and that they received not the
love of the truth. What did He do? to suffer the just consequences
of their sin. It always boils down to this.
Every person who will perish in hell for eternity, it is their
fault, their sin. And every person that will be
saved and spend eternity in heaven, it is God's fault. But listen to what Paul writes
to these people in a little place called Thessalonica in verse
13. Go back to verse 11. For this
cause God shall send them strong delusion that they shall believe
a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They believed not the Word and
Gospel of God, and they had pleasure in their own righteousness. They were satisfied with what
they were going to offer up to God. And look at that next verse.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. Now, that does not say he chose
them to have a chance to be saved. Or he chose them to have an opportunity
to hear the gospel. Or that he chose to send the
Spirit to kind of help them and nudge them along. He chose them
to salvation. Past, present, future. Chosen to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit. through that work of the Spirit
and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our gospel to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." When
he wrote to them in chapter 1 of the first epistle, He said this,
"'Knowing, brethren, your election of God.'" Knowing that God chose
you. Why? Because this gospel that
He sent us to preach to you came not to you in word only, but
in the power of God's Spirit. You believed it. You rejoiced
in it. You thanked God for it. You gave
Him all the glory for it. You identified with Me, though
men counted Me as a wretch among all men. You stood for Christ. You stood for His truth. And you had no other. You had no other. The psalmist in another place said, Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest
unto Thy people. O, visit me with Thy salvation,
that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance." That I may glory in God my Savior,
glory in the Lord Jesus Christ, glory in the grace of God with
all of His inheritance. There's an old hymn that has
these words, "'Tis not that I did choose thee, for, Lord, that
could not be. This heart would still refuse
thee, but thou hast chosen me.'" That's who's blessed. Blessed is that person that God
chose in Christ, that Christ came and suffered
in their place, and that is brought by the Spirit
of God. to see that, to rejoice in it,
to believe it, and to praise Him forever because of it. The Lord's people at any given
time, they may not have good health. They may be a persecuted people. They may be a people who scrape
by day to day, and they may have none of the
blessings that the world ascribes, but they're always blessed. They
always have a happiness that cannot be taken away, a peace
that passeth understanding, a joy of rejoicing, an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven." They have Christ. And everybody
else walking around here thinking they're doing something that
pleases God, planning on meeting Him on the basis of their person
or what they've done or what they've not done. If the Lord doesn't reveal the
truth to them, they'll show themselves to be
cursed. Depart from me, ye cursed. into
everlasting torment, into everlasting darkness. Prepared. Somebody said, well, it wasn't
prepared for you. Prepared for the devil and his angels. And that's who's going to be
there. That's why Christ looked at those
Pharisees. They had to organize religion.
They had their preachers. They had their moral standards. They had their law. They had
their ceremonies. They had their rituals. He said, You are of your father,
the devil, prepared for the devil and his
angels. Father, this day we pray. That you would show yourself
forth as mighty to save. Seek out your sheep. Call out
your people. Give them spiritual life to hear
and faith to believe that which you say. To hear these good news
words. and to rejoice that you love them so as to choose
them in Christ, save them from all their sins, and take them into your family,
to dwell with you and to be to the praise of your glory, world
without end. We thank you. And we pray in
Christ, Amen.