Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
40. Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 1. The scripture declares, Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. A few days ago I preached the
funeral for Loretta Sue Hibbs, and I spoke from this passage
of scripture. And the emphasis upon which I
spoke was concerning comfort. Comfort ye, comfort ye. And I
began to look at that scripture again yesterday. And as I was reading it, these
words stirred my heart. My people. My people. Comfort ye. Comfort ye. My people. Now, what a title. What a title is given by the
grace of God to a sinner saved by the grace of God. My people. Now when a believer considers
that title, the people of God, he's truly, and he's only made
to rejoice, he rejoices, but he's only made to rejoice as
he realizes that he was made so by grace. How does one become
his people? How do you make yourself one
of God's people? And I kept thinking on that. My people, my people. And I wanted
to just make a few comments this morning on that title. That privilege, that honor, my
people. Now I know this, I know that
nobody, nobody born in Adam has ever made themselves one of God's
people. I know that. And I know this,
if they're one of the Lord's own, they've always been the
Lord's own. Because he doesn't change. And
so therefore, any relationship that he got to anybody has always
been that way. But concerning my people, you
comfort my people. And that's what I'd like to do
this morning. I want to talk to the people of God. And this
is what I'd like to look at for a minute. Who are they? Well,
I can tell you this. There are people that are loved
by God. God loves His people. You ever seen these little signs,
you smile, God loves you. Well, if you're one of God's elect,
that's true. But if not, that's not true. John says, 1 John 3, 1, Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God. You comfort my people. Sons who are continually downtrodden
with the corruption of sin within, that's a mark of a believer.
They struggle. continually with what they see
inside. Just, there's an old man there,
and they're weighted down with the hatred of the world against
them. They're always accused of being,
you know, so arrogant and stuff. I was thinking about when we
were singing that song Gary picked out a few minutes ago, talking
about God's elect. And I can, humanly speaking,
I can understand, naturally speaking, I understand how someone, if
the Lord's not revealed the truth of the gospel of God's sovereign
grace, how somebody would just say, well, you're just arrogant.
You're trying to make this thing so narrow that nobody can get
in. But, you know, it's just, you
know, we three and no more. Well, the only problem with that
is that they deny that man died. He can't help himself. If God
left a man to himself, you know, they say, we want everybody to
come in. Yeah, but everybody's dead. How are you coming? You're dead. You're dead spiritually. You died. God's just. Soul is sent. It's going to die.
I mean, election is the greatest exhibition of the mercy of God. You realize, Paul said, if the
Lord hadn't left us a remnant, we'd all been like Sodom and
Gomorrah. And people, they hate, they hate
the gospel of God's electing grace. You're thinking, if God
wouldn't have chosen to show mercy, and satisfied his justice. He said, I'm a just God. And if he wouldn't have satisfied
himself at Calvary in Christ and left everybody to say, I'm
going to give them all a chance. Yeah, but they don't have a chance.
There is no chance. They're dead. They're dead. But behold what manner of love
The Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the
sons of God. Think about that. He did not
leave us to ourselves. How did you become sons of God? By God's choice. By the Son's purchase and the
Holy Spirit's divine call. We know it. Jeremiah 31.3, The
Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying... Now let me tell
you who, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, Jeremiah penned
that. Those are the words of the bride. That's the words of the bride.
The church, the elect of God. Behold, the Lord hath appeared
unto me. Made himself to be known. And this is what he said, Yea,
I've loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee. Only the bride can that be spoken
of. I've loved thee. The love of
God is an absolute distinguishing love. There's a love that just
passes all understanding. He said, I have loved thee. God loves His people. And it's an everlasting love. I've loved Thee everlastingly. We're sons of God, chosen, adopted. in the Beloved, and because you're
sons, because you are sons, God sends forth the Spirit of His
Son into your heart, and you cry in regenerating grace, Abba,
Father. So the love of God is manifested
to those that God's always loved, and He said, therefore with loving
kindness have I drawn thee. Now, here's an amazing thing. During the totality of an elect's
life, God has drawn him. Before any of God's people ever
knew him, obviously God knew them. And with loving kindness
was directing their steps, providentially ordering their lives. Why are
you here? How did we get here? I'm from
South Louisiana. How did I get here? The Lord, loving kindness, He
said, I drew you. How did you find the one you're
married to? How did you get there? God Almighty
put you there. He put me here. And what was
he doing? He was drawing. He's drawing
his people. How'd you end up under the sound
of the gospel of sovereign grace? How'd you come to be here? God
put you here. His eyes is forever upon His
people, protecting them until the time of the manifestation
of His love, that time when He'd be pleased grant them faith,
call them out of darkness. People said, I guess I'm just
lucky. You don't luck. Almighty God rules in heaven
and earth and He's going to save His people. He draws them, He
causes them to hear the truth and gives them a new heart and
they believe Him. There are people that's beloved
of God. He loves them and gives them
a new heart. They love Him because He loved
them first. And they love each other. They
love each other. Pray for one another. Secondly,
there are people that is secure. They're secure. I mean, I love
my kids. I love them. God loves His people. And I want to do all I can to
make my kids secure, but I can't. That's just beyond my ability.
God's people secure His people. They're secure. The Lord is the
constant companion of His own. Constantly. Now listen to this.
Jacob dreamed a dream. He was in Bethel. And he dreamed
this dream, and in the dream, It's in Genesis 28 15 the Lord
spoke to Jacob in a dream And this is what he said and the
Spirit of God moved upon Moses to pin down What God said to
Jacob in a dream? This is what God said Jacob's
dreaming, and this is what God said to him behold I am with
thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and
will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee
until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." I
mean, what security? Here, the Lord, the Lord spoke
to Jacob. And that promise right there
is not only to Jacob, the man, But to every chosen vessel of
God's mercy, all the spiritual Jacobs that are beloved of the
Lord. Remember Malachi 3.6, I am the
Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. Who said that? God said it. And
He said, because I don't change. You sons of Jacob are secure.
You're not consumed. David said in Psalm 121,4, Behold,
he that keepeth Israel, spiritual Israel, shall not slumber nor
sleep. Always remember, whenever you,
I know how the world, you know, every time they see the word
Israel, they always think of that little country over there.
But remember where Israel came from. That was Jacob. The Lord
asked him, What's your name? And my name's Jacob. The supplanter,
the trickster, the liar, the cheat. The Lord said, not anymore. Your name is Israel. But I made
you a prince with God. So whenever we read Israel, look
at it spiritually. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. Thirdly, God's people are heirs. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. I want to be a comfort to God's
people and tell them the truth. Now here's what I want to tell
you concerning your estate. You are heirs of God. You're heirs of God. Joint heirs
with Christ according to God's promise. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you. who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Now, the fountain of all of God's
blessing to His people, comfort my people, the fountain is this,
His abundant mercy. All merit on our part excluded. According to His mercy, we've
been translated from a state of deadness and the dominance
of sin and misery into a state of life and joy. And we live
in this world in a living hope, a living expectation. an effectual
hope that proceeds from a living faith. It's really, we truly
believe that Almighty God, according to His abundant mercy, rebirthed
us. That means He's begotten us again
unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Here's what we believe. that
we believe that as Christ was raised from the dead, we spiritually
were raised in Him, because we've always been in Him. But I can
tell you this, as He was raised from the dead physically, this
body is going to die, and it's going to go back to the dust,
and according to God's Word, As he was raised from the dead,
we're going to be raised from the dead too. As he went in the
grave and three days later came out, this body, this corruptible,
is going to go in the ground and is coming out incorruptible. And what are we going to be raised
to? He says, to an inheritance. Incorruptible. What is it? It's life eternal.
And everything else that goes with it. The Lord said, I give unto them
eternal life. You all know what your inheritance
is? Eternal life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I mean, you think
about, you know, we're heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. What is that? I can tell you
this, it's eternal life. What all is involved, I have
not seen. ear hath not heard, neither hath
entered into the heart of man, that which God has prepared for
those that love Him." We're going to be with Him. So,
to God's people, comfort, comfort, my people, what do you tell them?
The Lord's declared that He's everlastingly loved you, chose you, redeemed you, called
you, and you're secure. You're secure in Him. And you're
an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. And fourthly, you
are to Him a highly prized treasure. You're a treasure. A treasure.
Exodus 19.5, Now therefore, if you will obey my voice, indeed,
and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure
unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine." Now,
what a requirement. Here's the requirement. If you'll
obey my voice, keep all my commandments, you'll be to me a peculiar treasure. Well, for me, that's too great
a requirement. But I can tell you something
of the mercy of God Christ has for us, for His people. He came
into this world and as the representative of God's elect, He lived before
Almighty God and obeyed His voice and kept His commandments. And
the Lord, the Father gave this, this word concerning the Lord
Jesus. This is my beloved Son, whom
I'm well pleased. you hear Him. So therefore being found in Christ,
every one of God's elect chosen in Him, predestinated to the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself to God, every
one of us have been found faithful. faithful because that which he
accomplished and he earned, his obedience, his righteousness
as a man, the God-man, God charges to us. That's ours. So I can tell you this, you that
are his people, you have been found obedient. Deuteronomy 26, 18, 19, and the
Lord hath avouched. That means to publicly proclaim. That's what I'm doing right here
in the gospel. I am publicly proclaiming something. The Lord hath avouched thee this
day to be his peculiar people, and he hath promised thee that
thou shouldest keep all his commandments. He has said in my son, well done, well done. Now good and faithful servant,
he'll divide the sheep and the goats and he'll put the sheep
on one side and the goats on the other and he'll say to those
on his right hand, enter in, enter in to all that's been prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Almighty God has to
say to His people openly through the preaching of the truth, you're
my peculiar people. And then lastly, to you that
are His people, I'm going to tell you what God has to say. We're going to see Him and be accepted of Him face to
face. We're going to see Him. We're
going to see Him. 1 John 3, 2 Beloved, I just quoted
this, Now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what
we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall
be like Him. For we shall see Him as He is. Somebody will ask, Well, preacher,
you're saying the beloved people of God, those who have been chosen
to salvation and kept in this world secure during their pilgrimage
and made fit for heaven by the washing away of their sins by
the blood of Christ and robed in His righteousness, and those
who have been promised this inheritance of life eternal, that they're
going to leave this world We're actually going to leave this
world victoriously and we're going to actually behold God
Himself in His glorious beauty as our Savior and be accepted
in the Beloved. That's what you're saying. Yes,
I am. Yes, I am. We're here for just a minute.
It's just a vapor. This life is just fleeting. It's almost over. It's almost
over. But Job said, and though after
my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God,
whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and
not another, though my reins, though my inward parts be consumed
with me. I'm going to die unless the Lord
comes back. I'm going to die. But I'm going
to tell you something, Job says. In this flesh, this changed flesh,
that made incorruptible, Job said, under the inspiration of
God's Spirit, I'm going to see God. With these eyes that I'm
looking at right now at you, and you're looking back at me
right now, those that know Him, we're going to see Him. We're
going to look on Him and be accepted. Oh, in this life, we have problems, corruption. But
I'm going to tell you something, this body is going to be raised
in newness of life. And in that resurrected body,
that one that is restored and reunited with our soul, we're
going to see Him and delight in Him and forever be with Him. You comfort my people. You tell them what I say concerning
them. I pray that God bless this word
to our hearts for Christ's sake.